On July 20, Aparna Sen, a renowned filmmaker, criticized the TMC government in West Bengal for the violence that occurred during the panchayat elections. She asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could not escape responsibility for the chaos. Speaking at a seminar organized by a human rights group, Sen read from an open letter in Bengali addressed to the Chief Minister, holding the state government and Banerjee accountable for the lawlessness. She expressed her shock and helplessness at the state of affairs, emphasizing that the protests of the people seemed futile.
Aparna Sen had been part of the intelligentsia that campaigned for a change in government before the 2011 assembly elections, which led to the ousting of the Left Front that had ruled the state for 34 years. However, Sen stated that the current situation was not the change they had hoped for. She compared the past actions of the Left Front during elections, which were unfair and unjust, to the present situation, expressing her disapproval of the ongoing events.
When asked about her stance on Mamata Banerjee, Sen clarified that although she advocated for change before the 2011 elections, she did not directly support Banerjee. She did not personally meet with Banerjee, and although she attended state-sponsored film-related programs at places like Nandan, she explained that it was because these venues were funded by taxpayers and not under the sole control of Mamata Banerjee.
In response to Aparna Sen’s comments, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen pointed out that Sen might have forgotten the violence that occurred during the panchayat elections in 2003 and 2008 when the Left Front was in power. He claimed that the number of casualties was much higher during those periods, and supporters of the then opposition TMC and Congress were the main victims. He accused the CPI(M), Congress, and BJP of conspiring together during the current situation, where the highest number of deaths were from the ruling party. He criticized Aparna Sen for making such comments without considering the facts properly.
