BJP leaders file complaint against Abhishek for his call of gherao

On Sunday, BJP supporters led by party MP Khagen Murmu held protests outside the office of the Superintendent of Police, Malda, against atrocities on two women at a market in the district. The women were allegedly stripped and beaten by other women on July 19 in the market on complaints of theft. Five persons were arrested in connection with the incident.

Over the past two days, several BJP leaders in West Bengal have filed police complaints against Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for giving a call to gherao houses of BJP workers in the State on August 5. Mr. Banerjee had given the call at the Trinamool’s Martyr’s Day rally on July 21. Even though party chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said protests will be held at the block level and 100 metres away from the house of BJP workers, the controversy is failing to die down.

On Sunday, when Mr. Banerjee was asked about BJP leaders filing complaints against him, he responded rather cryptically: “I extend my good wishes to them.” The Trinamool MP had given the gherao call to protest against the Centre for not releasing funds for MGNREGA over the past two years. According to the Trinamool leadership funds of more than ₹7,000 crore are pending with the Centre. The Union government has not released any MGNREGA funds to the State since December 2020. The development has triggered a political war of words between the Trinamool and BJP leadership. 

On Sunday, BJP supporters led by party MP Khagen Murmu held protests outside the office of the Superintendent of Police, Malda, against atrocities on two women at a market in the district. The women were allegedly stripped and beaten by other women on July 19 in the market on complaints of theft. Five persons were arrested in connection with the incident.

In another development, an activist of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha ( BJYM) , the youth wing of BJP, was killed at Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur. Ashim Saha was stabbed at Islampur on Sunday and died at a hospital in Siliguri later in the day. Indranil Khan, State BJYM president said the youth was stabbed inside a market for resisting “extortion”. The police have arrested one person in connection with the murder. The BJYM had called for a 12-hour- bandh in Islampur on Monday.

A team of Scheduled Caste MPs from the BJP is visiting the State to look into alleged atrocities on members of SC community during the recently concluded panchayat elections. The team led by BJP MP Vinod Sonkar visited areas like Arambagh and Tarakeshwar in rural Hooghly and spoke to BJP supporters who were at the receiving end of the violence. This is the third team of BJP which has visited the State after the panchayat elections which witnessed widespread violence. BJP president J.P. Nadda had sent a team of BJP MPs led by Ravi Shankar Prasad which was followed by a team of women MPs. 

Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen took a swipe at the frequent teams sent by the BJP leadership and said, “The BJP has 18 MPs from West Bengal. It seems that the BJP national leadership does not have any trust in the party MPs from the State and that could have been the reason for so many teams.”

The setback for the BJP in West Bengal rural elections where its vote share dropped from 38% in 2021 Assembly election to 22% has also triggered speculation in the party. BJP State president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari are likely to visit Delhi in the next few days and meet the party’s national leadership.