GUWAHATI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) will foray into Assam’s upcoming panchayat polls for the first time and ostensibly, try to capitalize on the issue of the recent killings of five Bengalis by masked gunmen at Dhola in Upper Assam.
Firhad Hakim, who is a Cabinet Minister of West Bengal, told reporters in Guwahati on Monday that the TMC would contest the polls. The party had been in Assam’s Assembly poll fray quite a few times before but it had never contested the panchayat elections.
Hakim was in the city to attend a condolence meeting of the TMC’s Assam unit to pay homage to the victims of Dhola carnage.
He slammed Assam’s BJP-led coalition government for the alleged slow progress of investigation into the Dhola killings. He alleged that not just the Bengalis, several other communities were feeling insecure under the Sarbananda Sonowal government.
Hakim’s visit to the state came just days after a TMC delegation of three MPs and an MLA visited Dhola to stand by the victims’ families.
The TMC’s condolence meeting coincided with a meeting of the leaders of pro-talks faction of rebel group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and some noted Bengalis, including intellectuals.
“As everybody is aware due to some misunderstanding among the communities, the situation in Assam is deteriorating and some third party is taking advantage to create violence and differences among Assamese and Bengali communities of Assam. So, we, Mr Anup Chetia and Mr Pradip Sen Sarma, initiated the brotherhood meet among the Assamese and Bengali communities of Assam,” a statement read.
ULFA (pro-talks faction) leader Anup Chetia said the meeting was convened to try and improve the relationship between the two communities.
“It was a meeting for the unity of both communities. We want the differences to end. The Centre’s move to get the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed strained the relationship between the Assamese and the Bengalis and deteriorated the situation,” he said.
Sen Sarma, a Bengali leader, sniffed that a conspiracy was being hatched by some elements to incite communal riots between the two communities.
“We suspect that some elements are out there conspiring to create violence between the Assamese and the Bengalis. The government has various agencies and it should know who they are. We demand a probe by the National Investigation Agency to identify the elements,” he said.