As crisis brews within the Trinamool Congress, the party’s national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee has approached the Calcutta High Court seeking permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Banerjee filed a petition before the bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharyya on Tuesday, requesting temporary relaxation of restrictions on his foreign travel.
According to the plea, the senior TMC MP needs to travel overseas for one week to undergo treatment for an eye condition. A hearing is expected later this week.
Banerjee has been suffering from eye-related complications since he was seriously injured in a road accident several years ago while returning from a party programme in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.
The accident, which took place on the Durgapur Expressway, left him with severe injuries below the eye. Since then, he has undergone treatment at several hospitals in India as well as abroad.
However, the political landscape in West Bengal has changed significantly in recent years especially after the party’s recent drubbing in the assembly poll, and Abhishek has found himself linked to multiple legal controversies.
Allegations ranging from signature forgery to remarks made during election campaigns have brought him under the scanner of several investigating agencies. Although he has secured legal protection from the Calcutta High Court in connection with some of the cases, restrictions on his foreign travel remain in place.