Union minister Babul Supriyo courted controversy after he threatened to “skin” those opposing his entry. The slogans were shouted when Supriyo was visiting his constituency, Asansol, one of the areas hit by communal violence following Ram Navami processions in the state.

The purported video in which Supriyo can be heard threatening the crowd went viral on Thursday. This morning in a brazen response, the Union minister said that he his statement was in response to abuses used by three Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers who were “threatening the victims”.

Supriyo was on his way to a relief camp in Asansol’s Kalyanpur, a riot-affected area when the police allegedly barred his entry. According to reports, he was booked under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and four other Sections, including rioting and assaulting a public servant. The Union minister has been accused of assaulting senior IPS officer Rupesh Kumar.

In the video, he can be heard saying the crowd: “Will I ask you to fight? I will leave and you will come under fire.” However, when someone from the crowd surrounding asked him to “go back”, Supriyo retorted, “Charma guthiye debo ekdom (Will skin you right away).”

Supriyo later filed a cross-FIR against the police official. He has alleged that a bunch of police personnel in West Bengal “have been reduced to TMC cadre and have lost all dignity.”

Defending his statement of threatening to “skin”, Supriyo said, “Yes, I said that to the 3 TMC cadres who appeared out of nowhere and started abusing me and threatening the victims who were speaking up…”