Kolkata: Rekha Patra, BJP MLA from Hingalganj and a prominent face of the Sandeshkhali protests, has publicly accused colleagues in her party’s Basirhat organisational district of humiliating her and calling her “uneducated” because of her lack of formal schooling.Speaking to reporters in Barasat on Friday, Patra said she had stopped attending district-level events in protest and called on party seniors to examine the matter.“I am being misled by the district leadership. Because I am not highly educated, the Basirhat organisational district committee misleads and humiliates me all the time. I am invited to programmes only to be demeaned. I won’t tolerate this,” she said.Patra rose to prominence during protests against former Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali. BJP fielded her in the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Basirhat, where she lost, before nominating her for the Hingalganj assembly seat in the 2026 state election, which she won.Her public grievance adds to a series of controversies surrounding her since her election. A local resident lodged a complaint against her at CM Suvendu Adhikari’s public grievance forum, alleging she had occupied his three-storey property for months without paying rent or completing a promised buy.A video that circulated online purportedly showed her grabbing a police officer by the collar during a family land dispute and scuffling with a farmer’s family in Sandeshkhali.Patra said she remained active in her constituency regardless of district-level support. “My office remains crowded from 5am to 5pm with people bringing their grievances,” she said.Sukalyan Baidya, president of the Basirhat BJP organisational district, rejected her account. “We have always extended the respect she deserves as a member of the district committee and as an MLA. If she felt aggrieved, that is her personal perception,” he said, adding that seniors were reviewing the matter ahead of panchayat elections.
