FIR against TMC MP Mahua Moitra for ‘offensive’ remarks against Amit Shah

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has been booked for her alleged objectionable remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and an FIR (first information report) was registered against her in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, police said on Sunday. Moitra sparked a row after allegedly saying that if Home Minister Shah fails to stop infiltration from Bangladesh, “the first thing you should do is cut Amit Shah’s head and put it on your table.”

The case was registered at the Mana police station on Saturday based on a complaint filed by a local resident, Gopal Samanto.

The FIR cites sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.) and 197 (imputations prejudicial to national integration) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a police officer said.

The alleged remarks were made on Thursday in West Bengal’s Nadia district by Moitra while speaking to the press on the sidelines of an event. Moitra accused the Union government of failing to secure India’s borders and “passing the buck” on infiltration issues.

A video of her statement was widely shared on social media, but WION could not verify its authenticity.

According to police, the complainant said that Moitra’s comments were unconstitutional and objectionable. A large number of Bangladeshi refugees had settled in Raipur’s Mana Camp area in 1971, and her remarks had created fear among them, as they could provoke anger from other communities.

Moitra has accused the Union government of shirking its responsibility in ensuring border security.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, has demanded an apology from her.

BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP Ravi Shankar Prasad hit back, saying, “Her statement is condemnable. Her membership has been revoked once. Now, will she want to repeat this again? She used such words against the country’s Home Minister; what status do such people have? What kind of people does Mamata Banerjee have?”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also slammed the TMC MP, saying: “The unparliamentary and objectionable remark made by a TMC MP against the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah ji is inexcusable and highly condemnable...”

The controversy spiralled after BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri allegedly used an expletive for Moitra in a post on X, which has since been deleted.

Sharing a screenshot of the post, TMC said on X, “The vile slurs hurled by @rameshbidhuri against a woman MP are not an aberration, they are the political dialect of @BJP4India. MISOGYNY, HATRED, and GUTTER-LEVEL ABUSE have been normalised under Modi–Shah’s leadership...”