TMC's Saayoni Ghosh clears air on Kolkata flat row linked to Abhishek Banerjee

Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh on Thursday said an inspection carried out by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation had cleared up confusion surrounding a Kolkata flat that recently became the centre of a political controversy involving her and senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee.

Sharing details of the civic verification on X, Ghosh said officials visited a flat at 19B, 7 Tanks Lane in Kolkata and found that the property belonged to a different couple, Abhishek Bandhopadhaya and his wife, Sayani Ghosh, whose names closely resembled those of the two TMC leaders.

“Satyamev Jayate!” Ghosh wrote while sharing details of the inspection, adding that the similarity in names led to speculation online and fuelled allegations linking her and Banerjee to the apartment.

In her post on X, Ghosh clarified that the couple informed civic authorities that they had jointly purchased the flat around three years ago and submitted ownership documents during the verification process.

The TMC MP added that the residents cooperated fully with officials from the civic body and local police during the verification process.

Ghosh said the couple also voiced disappointment over the public attention and social media speculation that had placed them, along with the two Trinamool leaders sharing similar names, under scrutiny.

“While they cooperated patiently with KMC authorities and local PS during the inspection process they also expressed deep disappointment with the ongoing speculation and smear campaign that brought them as well as the Members of Parliament Shri Abhishek Banerjee and Ms Sayani Ghosh under public scrutiny,” the TMC MP wrote in her X post.

“They said it was purely coincidental,” she added.

The TMC MP claimed the controversy had escalated into a politically motivated campaign aimed at damaging the reputations of both leaders.

Calling it a case of “vendetta politics”, she alleged that misinformation was deliberately circulated on social media and amplified through sections of the media.

TMC LEADERS’ PROPERTY ROW

The political row erupted on Tuesday after notices related to certain properties in Kolkata surfaced publicly amid an ongoing political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP over alleged unauthorised constructions and property ownership.

BJP leaders had accused several TMC functionaries of owning multiple properties, with Banerjee’s name also featuring in the political attacks.

A day earlier, Ghosh had rejected claims that she jointly owned the flat with Banerjee, calling the allegations “fake news” and urging people to verify details through her election affidavit. She also warned of legal action against those spreading misinformation.

"I can't say who it is, but it's definitely not the Saayoni Ghosh who started from a humble background with no windfall profits made from politics to date. For those trying to defame me without any evidence - stop now!" Ghosh said in a post on X.

"Please know, I won't budge an inch, I won't let it pass. Legal action will be taken for spreading fake news. This 'Ghosh' won't be bullied," she further said.

GHOSH TARGETS BJP OVER OPEN DEATH THREAT

The latest controversy comes even as Saayoni Ghosh remains at the centre of another political row over an alleged death threat issued by a BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh.

On Tuesday, Ghosh claimed that a video circulating on social media showed a BJP leader from Bulandshahr allegedly announcing a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who “beheads” her.

Calling it an “open death threat”, the TMC MP said she was shocked by what she described as a public call for violence against a sitting woman parliamentarian.

In a post on X, Ghosh said the alleged announcement was made by a Nagar Palika chairman and BJP leader from Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr.

Tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior BJP leaders, she questioned whether such remarks reflected the party’s slogan of “Nari Shakti Vandan”.

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