'Broken Bottle Rolled Towards Chair': Kalyan Banerjee Breaks Silence on Waqf Meeting Chaos

New Delhi: Back in the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Bill after a one-day suspension for unruly conduct, Trinamool Congress member Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday accused BJP 's Abhijit Gangopadhyay of provoking him by hurling abuses which made him smash a glass bottle out of frustration.

Banerjee also said that he never intended to throw the broken glass bottle at parliamentary committee chief Jagdambika Pal and it just rolled out of his bleeding hand towards the Chair.

Last week, after a heated argument with Gangopadhyay, a former high court judge, broke a glass bottle and allegedly hurled it towards the panel chairman, an act that earned him one-day suspension from the sitting of the committee.

"I have great respect for the rules and regulations. Unfortunately, Abhijit Gangopadhyay made serious allegations against me. On that day, there was a heated exchange of words between Naseer (Hussain, Congress member) and Gangopadhyay," Banerjee said, recalling the incident of last Tuesday.

"I asked Gangopadhyay why he was shouting and then he started abusing me, my parents, and my wife. The Chairperson was not there. Later, the chairman was harsh on me but soft towards him (Gangopadhyay). This frustrated me," the TMC member said.

Banerjee said he smashed the glass bottle out of frustration and not because he was annoyed at the judge-turned-parliamentarian.

"When I got injured, I had to let go of the bottle and it rolled towards the Chair. That day itself, I told the meeting that I had no intention to throw the bottle at the chairperson. I also expressed regret and said sorry four times," Banerjee told reporters here.

On his suspension from the committee, Banerjee said the chairman did not have the powers to remove him from the panel and that right was of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The TMC leader targeted Gangopadhyay, saying his record as a judge of the Calcutta High Court was "controversial" and also questioned his abilities as a lawyer.