# Bengal minister defends footpath eviction after video sparks backlash 2026-08-25T01:04:48+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet West Bengal minister Agnimitra Paul has defended her on-camera removal of a family living on a Kolkata footpath, saying critics are trying to sabotage the BJP government's drive to clear pavements. A video she posted on Saturday showed her asking a woman why she was boiling milk for a child on the footpath, then removing the family's belongings. The backlash has come from opposition politicians and cultural figures. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee offered to shelter the family, while actor Sreelekha Mitra and National Award winner Riddhi Sen condemned the minister's approach. Poet Srijato wrote verses about the family's vulnerability. The CPM-affiliated All India Democratic Women's Association demanded a public apology from Paul. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh visited the family on Sunday and requested police not to evict them without shelter. The family told him their husbands had abandoned them and police had threatened forced eviction. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Kolkata's footpath eviction row revives a recurring tension between urban beautification drives and the right to shelter. The Supreme Court has held that pavement dwellers cannot be forcibly removed without notice, rehabilitation, and a valid alternative, the state government's own municipal act requires the same. The Trinamool Congress, which lost control of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to the BJP in the 2021 civic polls, now offers shelter to this family, a direct political challenge to the ruling party's enforcement record. The Bengal State Human Rights Commission can take suo motu cognisance of evictions that violate procedure. Whether the minister's drive triggers a formal complaint or a court stay will determine if the crackdown proceeds citywide or is paused for a policy rethink. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com Leads with the minister's defence and the factual sequence of events, then reports criticism from opposition and activists without editorial colour This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Agnimitra Paul, BJP, Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-minister-defends-footpath-eviction-after-video-sparks-backlash/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-minister-defends-footpath-eviction-after-video-sparks-backlash/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/