TMC MP Dev (left); BJP MLA Hiraan ChatterjeeA day after he was targeted by BJP’s Kharagpur MLA Hiraan Chatterjee for not visiting his Lok Sabha constituency of Ghatal, actor-turned-Trinamool Congress MP Dev went to the segment in Paschim Medinipur district and slammed the saffron party leader for launching a “personal attack”.
Speaking to mediapersons in the parliamentary constituency, Dev said, “I have not done anything for which I have to bow down my head. Hiraan is my friend and he may have made certain comments without having any knowledge. I am an established actor who can pay for his own expenses. I travel abroad on my own money. But I would request him not to make it personal. He is free to target me but should refrain from attacking the people I am close with.”
Speaking at a public meeting on Monday, Chatterjee, also an actor-turned-politician, had said that Dev was “busy holidaying in the Maldives” than visiting his constituency. “Waterlogging is a chronic issue in Ghatal. Every monsoon, the area gets submerged under water. But there is a political leader who asks for votes before the election but goes away once it is over. He stays in a flat in Kolkata and holidays in the Maldives. He takes money from cow smuggler Enamul Haque to make films. When CBI calls him for questioning, he behaves as if he knows nothing,” said the BJP MLA.
Reacting to the allegations of taking money from Haque, the TMC MP said, “He knows about me more than I know about myself. I feel that next time the CBI should summon him to know about me as he has more knowledge about me and my earnings. I don’t need a person like Enamul Haque to fund my films. I am established enough to produce my own films.”
Haque is the alleged kingpin of cattle smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in February.