1 week ago
Suvendu Adhikari Promises Shelter After Kolkata Pavement Milk Row
Sita Devi and her family were living on a pavement in Kolkata.
A video showed Minister Agnimitra Paul questioning her while she warmed milk on a small kerosene stove.
Paul said the stove could be dangerous on a busy street.
She also said she did not take the milk away and admitted she could have spoken more kindly.
Sita later met Suvendu Adhikari at a BJP office.
Adhikari promised to ask the city corporation to find the family a home.
Sita said she trusted the chief minister.
Mamata Banerjee had also offered help to the family.
Political parties then argued about who should help pavement dwellers and when the assistance was offered.
Suvendu Adhikari met Sita Devi and her family at the BJP’s Salt Lake office after a public outreach programme.
Adhikari promised to contact the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to arrange accommodation for the pavement-dwelling family.
Sita Devi said she trusted the chief minister after the meeting.
Agnimitra Paul defended questioning the family’s kerosene stove as a safety measure but acknowledged she could have spoken more gently.
The incident triggered criticism from Mamata Banerjee, opposition parties and the public, followed by competing offers of assistance.
- Who
- Sita Devi and her family, Suvendu Adhikari, Agnimitra Paul and Mamata Banerjee are central to the controversy.
- What
- A pavement-dwelling family was promised accommodation after a video showed Paul confronting Sita Devi over warming milk on a stove.
- Where
- The original incident occurred on the Free School Street pavement in central Kolkata, and the later meeting took place at the BJP office in Salt Lake.
- When
- Paul’s inspection was reported as taking place on August 22; Adhikari met the family on Tuesday afterward.
- Why
- Paul said she intervened because a kerosene stove on a busy pavement posed a safety risk; Adhikari said he would arrange accommodation after the controversy.
Safety and Government Response
Compassion and Political Accountability
Reason for confronting the family
Safety and Government Response
Agnimitra Paul said a kerosene stove on a busy pavement could cause an accident and that she asked the family to move away from the street; she said she did not take the milk from the child.
Compassion and Political Accountability
Critics, including politicians, civil society members and members of the public, said Paul treated a poverty-stricken woman insensitively from a position of power. Paul acknowledged that she could have explained the safety concern more softly.
How the family should be helped
Safety and Government Response
Suvendu Adhikari promised to work with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to arrange accommodation and said pavement dwellers had been neglected by earlier governments.
Compassion and Political Accountability
Mamata Banerjee offered assistance for the family, while Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh questioned why Adhikari acted only after Mamata raised the issue.
Political interpretation of the meeting
Safety and Government Response
BJP sources described Adhikari’s meeting as a necessary government response and a signal that officials should handle such situations more humanely.
Compassion and Political Accountability
Adhikari accused opposition parties of exploiting the controversy and alleged that people were being paid to make statements against the BJP and state government; the opposition disputed the political handling of the issue.
Key facts
- Family at center
- Sita Devi, her daughter and two toddlers were described as living on a pavement.
- Accommodation promise
- Suvendu Adhikari said he would speak to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation about arranging accommodation.
- Meeting location
- The family met Adhikari at the BJP’s Salt Lake office after his Janatar Darbar outreach event.
- Original incident
- Agnimitra Paul confronted Sita Devi while she was warming milk on a kerosene stove on Free School Street.
- Paul’s explanation
- Paul said she was concerned about the danger of using a kerosene stove on a busy street and acknowledged she could have been gentler.
- Other assistance
- Mamata Banerjee said her party members could help provide shelter, education and food for the child.
- Political dispute
- Adhikari criticised previous Left and Trinamool Congress governments, while Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh questioned the timing of his intervention.
Quotes
Suvendu Adhikari
BJP politician who promised accommodation and criticised previous state governments.
“Mamata Banerjee sent people to her and told her to take money and speak against the BJP. She (Sita Devi) said she had faith in the chief minister. I told her that I would speak to the (Calcutta Municipal) Corporation and make arrangements for her accommodation.”
telegraphindia.com
“Did the chief minister wake up only after Mamata Banerjee pledged to take responsibility for the family? He (Suvendu) was the chief minister on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well. Why did he remember the poor footpath-dwelling family on Tuesday?”
telegraphindia.com
Agnimitra Paul
Urban development and municipal affairs minister who reprimanded the family
“I may have shouted. Perhaps I should have explained it to hermore softly.”
telegraphindia.com
“I trust the CM”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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