The BJPs West Bengal unit has filed a complaint with the police against national award-winning singer, musician and lyricist Kabir Suman for allegedly using abusive language against a journalist working with private news channel who had called for his reaction on a particular issue.

“Yesterday, while watching and surfing social media, I came across a news clip, where the said Kabir Suman could be heard speaking to a journalist over phone and using ******** (foul language that cannot be published). He was rampantly abusing the journalist and when the scribe stated that as a Bengali, he is asking certain questions, the said Kabir Suman rampantly abused him with filthy language, which was not expected from a cultured person like him. He was giving rape threats to the Bengali mothers and inciting communal tension and violence,” BJP leader and KMC councillor Sajal Ghosh wrote in his complaint.

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Kabir Suman is a former Trinamool Congress MP.

“The said statement and voice recording was aired in various social media posts and portals. It is quite disturbing to even believe that a person has the audacity to abuse the Bengali and non-Bengali communities in this fashion in a country where, as per the Constitution, all religions, caste, creeds are to be respected.

“The said statement of Kabir Suman is an insult to the Bengali community, non-Bengali community and to the society at large and he has deliberately done this with malafide intention to defame and abuse the Bengalis whose legacy of culture and contribution to India and the world is immense,” the complaint mentioned.

“It is difficult to digest that a person in the soil of Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Prem Chand and Subhas Chandra Bose can show the audacity to disrespect Bengalis and non-Bengalis in this fashion. Such acts should be punished and strict action should be taken against Kabir Suman for abusing and spreading hatred against Bengalis and non-Bengalis. His statements will lead to communal clashes, unrest and violence in the society, thereby disrupting peace and tranquillity,” Ghosh wrote in his complaint.

Not only Ghosh, but there has been widespread protest even inside Trinamool Congress against Suman’s choice of words and use of language with a journalist who was merely doing his duty.

Trinamool’s state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh tweeted, “The audio that is circulating – if it is of Kabir Suman – then it is disturbing and should be strongly protested. He should apologise for this. Just because he is an intellectual and creative artiste, it doesn’t give him the licence to say such things.”

Bengali author and intellectual Srijato Bandyopadhyay wrote in a Facebook post: “An artiste is a common man like everybody and his creativity doesn’t give him the liberty to write or say anything – particularly something which is not approved by the society. We should protest against this,” Bandyopadhyay wrote.

“I just merely called him up to get his reaction to Sandhya Mukherjee declining Padma Shri award. It had nothing to do with politics. He didn’t even allow me to speak. I was shocked to find a man of his stature using such filthy language,” the television journalist said.

Suman, however, seemed unfazed with the widespread criticism against him across the state. In a Facebook post – only visible to his friends – the veteran singer said, “I don’t believe that media, journalists and artistes can have different kinds of freedom. They enjoy the same liberty like a common citizen. What a particular television is doing day after day – I have given them a befitting reply in a language they deserve. I am not bothered about the criticism; I shall do it again if needed.”