Do you have to practise, what you preach? CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee and the general secretary of SFI was left to ponder this question when some of his party cadres questioned him for carrying a Mont Blanc pen and an Apple watch.

On February 12, Banerjee visited Siliguri to watch a football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Banerjee reportedly uploaded a picture on Facebook, sporting a Mont Blanc pen and an Apple watch.

Ritabrata got into hot water when one of his Facebook friends and a supporter of the party questioned his source of income. The person allegedly wrote, “The Apple watch, which he flaunts, starts at $349 in the US which goes up to $1049! If I am not mistaken, the writing instrument is Mont Blanc meisterstuck (German word, English: Masterpiece) price of which in India, starts at Rs 30,000. How could this fellow afford such luxurious accessories??? Surely, the source of income is not the monthly wage of Rs.6,000 that he receives as a Communist Party whole-timer to carry a pen which is worth his 6 months income?!!!,” a portion of the Facebook post read.



After the post went viral, a clearly peeved Ritabrata complained to the HR of the company where the concerned individual works. In a screenshot available with WION, whose authenticity could not be ascertained shows a mail, sent from Banerjee’s email address to the company’s HR.

The mail reads, “This is Ritabrata Banerjee, member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. One of your employees *********** is constantly making hate speeches against me and maligning me on social media. I am going to lodge a formal complaint with Delhi Police and also take legal steps. Can you pls forward me the mail id of your company. I will send a letter about the matter to you in my letterhead. I believe you people will also look into the matter.”

Ritabrata Banerjee's email to the HR of the startup company:

Ritabrata Banerjee's email to the HR of the Bangalore-based startup. (WION) ×

However, when WION approached Banerjee for his version on this, he said, “I have no idea about this matter.” No police complaint was filed by Banerjee till last reports came in.

The person works with a Bangalore-based startup and according to sources in his organisation, he has been asked to quit the company. The two co-founders of the startup are in a fix over this issue, reveal sources.

CPI(M) is a party which believes in social equality and generally promotes austere living among its party members. However, Banerjee’s actions have drawn a lot of flak on the social media.

(WION)