Mamata Banerjee gets praised for allowing protests to continue ‘freely’: ‘Very few administrations tolerate…’

Actor Parambrata Chatterjee, one of the celeb faces in the ongoing anti-rape protests in Kolkata, has hailed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her “positive” attitude. At the same time, he has asked a couple of questions.

In an Instagram post, Chatterjee shared a photo of protesting junior doctors outside CM Banerjee’s house. Some of them are standing with folded hands.

“You can firmly present your demands without crossing the boundaries of civility or decency. This was clearly demonstrated yesterday by the junior doctors waiting in front of the honourable chief minister's residence. Their fight for their own respect and safety while showing respect to the person on the other side reflects their belief in their cause and a great sense of maturity. Salute to them!” Chatterjee said.

On the other hand, the actor also appreciated Banerjee’s arrival at the protest site while calling it a “commendable and highly positive” step.

“I cannot recall any similar gesture from a ruler in any other state in recent times. Very few administrations tolerate a movement to continue so freely for such an extended period. Generally, protests that raise their voice against authority are crushed much earlier through state power," Chatterjee said.

"The long-standing farmers' protests in North India are a prime example of this. Such examples are far more common. In this case, it is undeniable that the state administration did not take that route,” he added.

Questions for Mamata Banerjee

At the same time, the actor-director wondered why such a step could not be taken earlier. CM Banerjee should have engaged with the demonstrators much earlier without accusing them of being politically motivated, he added.

“The attempt to solve the problems would have started earlier, people could have seen the humane face of the ruler earlier!” he added.

Chatterjee, known for Bengali movies, has also acted in Bollywood movies like Kahaani, Pari and Kaun Pravin Tambe?. He also played a major character in the Netflix web-series Aranyak, also starring Raveena Tandon.