Post-poll violence continues unabated in West Bengal

Published : Jun 10, 2019 18:51 IST

Political violence following the 2019 Lok Sabha election in West Bengal continues unabated with more than six persons dead (as of June 10) and several more feared killed in clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in different parts of the State. The BJP’s surprise success in the election in the State, where it won 18 of the 42 parliamentary seats, almost immediately set in motion a deadly battle for political turf involving both parties.

In the latest outbreak of violence on June 8, two BJP workers and one Trinamool activist were killed in Sandeshkhali Block in North 24 Parganas district. According to the BJP, several of its supporters in the region are missing and are feared dead. Trouble began on the afternoon of June 8, when Trinamool workers allegedly tried to hoist their party flag on the shop of a BJP supporter in Bhangipara under Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, where the Trinamool candidate Nusrat Jahan had won by over three lakh votes. Bhangipara was one of the few localities in the constituency where the BJP did relatively well.

In spite of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issuing a ban on all victory celebrations and processions, the Trinamool leadership in Basirhat apparently gathered near Bhangipara to organise a “Victory Utsab” and were planting the party flag on houses and properties of BJP supporters. Abdul Kayum Mollah, a Trinamool worker and resident of nearby Purba Rajbari village, was shot dead when he was putting up the party colours in the shop of Pradip Mandal, a BJP activist. In the violence that broke out, hundreds of Trinamool supporters regrouped and chased out the men from the village, including Pradip Mandal. The bodies of Pradip Mandal and Sukanta Mandal, another BJP supporter, were later recovered from the fish ponds in the region. Devdas Mandal, also a BJP supporter, was chased out of his village and attacked viciously by Trinamool workers, and remains missing (as of June 10).

BJP leader Mukul Roy, who was once a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, said: “Two of our supporters were killed and three remain missing. We believe they have been killed as well….  How can Mamata Banerjee say that the situation is under control in West Bengal when our people are being killed every day.”

There was widespread protest by the BJP in different parts of the State against the attacks on its supporters. A BJP delegation led by State president Dilip Ghosh also tried to bring the body of the slain BJP workers to Kolkata, but were prevented by the police. The BJP also announced a series of political programmes, including a 12-hour bandh in Basirhat on June 10, and a ‘March to Lal Bazar (the Kolkata Police headquarters) on June 12.

The incidents prompted the Union Home Ministry to come out with a strongly worded advisory to the State government. “The unabated violence over the past few weeks appears to be a failure on the part of the law enforcement machinery of the State to maintain the rule of law and inspire confidence among people,” the advisory stated.

Lashing out against the Centre’s advisory, the Trinamool Congress said in a statement, “In a democracy the Centre and the States are to work in tandem. Instead of taking the State government into confidence and verifying the ground situation, the unilateral issue of an advisory by the MHA is an insult to the people of Bengal.”

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