‘I, Me, Myself’: Mamata Panned For ’76 Self-References’ In Address To Kolkata Doctors At Protest Site

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee faced sharp criticism from BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday who accused the TMC chief of focusing excessively on herself during her speech, claiming she referred to “I, me, myself, mine” 76 times in just 9 minutes and 26 seconds.

Adhikari’s criticism came after Mamata visited a makeshift camp of junior doctors who were protesting over the brutal rape-murder of their colleague near Swasthya Bhawan. The former TMC leader accused Banerjee of being a “self-centered megalomaniac,” suggesting that her self-focused demeanor complicates efforts to resolve the ongoing deadlock.

‘This is her personality’

“That’s how much CM Mamata Banerjee referred to and boasted about herself while addressing the Junior Doctors yesterday, when she visited their makeshift camp near Swasthya Bhawan. This is her personality all about, it’s all about herself. She is a self centric megalomaniac. That’s why it’s extremely difficult to find a solution to end the deadlock amicably,” the BJP leader said in a post on X.

The comments come amid continued tensions between the state government and junior doctors, who have been protesting for better working conditions and increased safety measures following the murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata.

On Saturday, the Bengal CM made a surprise visit to the site where junior doctors were protesting and assured them that their demands would be addressed, asking them to come for talks, but the proposed meeting fell through with the protesters claiming that they were asked to leave “unceremoniously” after waiting for three hours at the gates of CM’s residence.

After the protesters refused to enter Banerjee’s residence due to the government’s rejection of their demand for a live telecast, she came out to appeal to the doctors to join the talks and urged them “not to insult her,” and promised them that a signed copy of the minutes of the meeting would be given.

The protesters claimed that they agreed to have the meeting without the live-streaming, a key demand of theirs. An agitating doctor, before leaving the venue, said they had agreed to attend the meeting without live-streaming or video recording as Banerjee requested, but after notifying State Health Minister of this decision, they were told to leave because it was too late and the officials had been waiting for three hours.

Meanwhile, the CBI, which is probing the rape-murder case, added charges of tampering with evidence against former RG Kar hospital principal Sandip Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody and arrested Abhijit Mondal, the officer-in-charge of Tala police station, on charges of misleading the investigation and altering the crime scene.