RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai wrote a letter to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee urging her to take stringent action against the offenders responsible for reported land grabbing and alleged sexual assault of tribal women in Sandeshkhali village in the state ruled by Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Sai, who is from a tribal community, has condemned the Sandeshkhali violence-hit incident and dubbed the reports given by the National Tribal Commission as “horrifying and heart-wrenching.”
“Injustice perpetrated against mothers and sisters that have come to light in the Sandeshkhali region of your state is heart-wrenching. Incidents like brutal rape of over 50 women belonging to tribal communities, grabbing the land from thousands of tribals and even snatching away MNREGA wages from them have blemished humanity,” Sai wrote in his letter that he also shared on his X-post.
He stated that the movement for women's empowerment began from Bengal which is the land of Swami Vivekananda, Bamkinchandra Chattopadhyay, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
“In a state with such consciousness (awareness), the atrocities committed against deprived segments cannot be tolerated by any civilised society. It is condemnable that such a situation should emerge under your leadership. Merely owing to appeasement and vote-bank politics the lives of tribals are put in danger in the state,” the Chhattisgarh CM stated.
Sai, in his letter to Mamata, further stated that she being the Chief Minister of West Bengal should immediately intervene and issue instructions for strict action and punishment to the perpetrators.
“I urge you to take appropriate legal action against the criminals Shahjahan and Sirajuddin along with their political protectors. I hope you will take a decision rising above political considerations in this matter that concerns with humanity,” the letter said.