Kolkata, Oct 31 Posters claiming that Kolkata Port MLA and rebel TMC leader Firhad Hakim has been missing since May 4 appeared in parts of his Assembly constituency on Saturday, sources said.
The posters, written in English and Hindi by unidentified people, have surfaced on walls and lamp posts in Garden Reach and Metiabruz areas of Kolkata Port.
The posters read: ‘Kolkata Port MLA Firhad Hakim has been missing since May 4.’
The development comes days after posters branding Hakim, a former Kolkata mayor, a “traitor” (gaddar) appeared in the area.
Reacting to the latest posters, BJP MLA Rudranil Ghosh said he could not say whether Hakim was staying at home “counting notes” or engaged in other activities, but claimed that public perception of the leader had deteriorated after he joined the Democratic Trinamool Congress faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
“I do not know why he is not visiting the Port area or those localities. Perhaps he is apprehensive about something. There is a sense of resentment against the elected leaders of Mamata-led Trinamool Congress among people in West Bengal, and its leaders are no longer comfortable facing the public,” Ghosh said.
He alleged that people could no longer be intimidated into remaining silent under the new government, adding that citizens were now able to express their grievances and question their elected representatives in a democratic environment.
Hakim was once considered one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest aides and a key member of her inner circle.
However, the state’s political landscape has changed following the change of government, with Hakim moving away from Banerjee and aligning himself with the camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
(PTI News)
