Paresh Rawal has been summoned by the Taltala (Calcutta) police for questioning on December 12 over his comment on “fish-eating Bengalis” and “equating” them with illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas immigrants. “What will you do with gas cylinders? Cook fish for Bengalis?” Rawal had said. The FIR was lodged by CPM state secretary Md. Salim.
The FIR includes multiple penal sections including those related to inciting riots. BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh termed the summons a ploy to malign the party. “It seems the (governing) Trinamool is trying to shift focus from corruption. They are trying to blow the comment out of proportion,” said Ghosh. Paresh Rawal had issued an apology, saying that by Bengalis, he meant illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.