The controversy then acquired a sharper political edge when chief minister Suvendu Adhikari attacked Banerjee without naming her directly. “She should stay home and do some live talking on Facebook,” he said. He went further: “I will make sure that she does not come out of her home anymore.”
The remark intensified the political confrontation, turning the pavement dispute into another battle between the BJP government and Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. In her Facebook Live address, Banerjee returned to the plight of the pavement family. “Please do not despise the poor,” she said, describing the woman as someone who was simply trying to prepare food for “a tiny infant”.
“Did it not feel wrong to deprive the poor child of that milk?” Banerjee asked. She then offered to intervene directly: “I am ready to take responsibility for this family.” If the family agreed, she said she would arrange accommodation at the home of a party worker, provide food and take responsibility for the child’s education.
TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh also criticised Paul over the interaction after visiting the woman, and later met police officials, requesting that she not be evicted until rehabilitation arrangements were made. “No one chooses to live on the pavement with a small child,” Ghosh said. While agreeing that pavements should remain clear for pedestrians, he urged the government to adopt a “humane approach” and ensure alternative accommodation before eviction. Police, he said, assured cooperation.
Banerjee used the episode to attack what she described as the BJP government’s wider “politics of bulldozers”. She asked, “Are hawkers supposed to starve?” and criticised the eviction of hawkers and other pavement dwellers.
Her Facebook Live, however, ranged far beyond the Park Street incident. She accused the BJP government of denying women benefits under Annapurna Bhandar and expressed solidarity with women protesting over the issue.
Banerjee also criticised the treatment of students and youths, referring to Jadavpur University, Presidency University and Ashutosh College. She questioned the treatment of students during recent political programmes and alleged that democratic voices were being suppressed.
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