Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders may deny any role in the Burdwan blast but they will remain under a dark cloud of suspicion until investigating agencies officially clear their name. This is partly due to the manner in which the case has been handled by local authorities in West Bengal and partly due to the ruling party’s dubious record of dangerous intimacies with Islamists and suspected terror elements. It is undisputed that the house where the blast happened was a major bomb-assembling unit and a jihadi hub and the owner of the house is a TMC sympathiser. While this in itself does not implicate the party, what really turns the needle of suspicion towards the party is the ostensible efforts by law enforcement officials to cover up the matter.
The state police made no effort to contact the National Investigation Agency, and when the latter got involved, its efforts were stonewalled by the local authorities. The party is still fire-fighting allegations that its leaders funnelled money from the Saradha chit fund scam to Islamist outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh to fuel a violent campaign against Sheikh Hasina’s government. Dhaka has handed over evidence to New Delhi on the insidious role being played by some Indian politicians with TMC links. Against this backdrop, it comes as no surprise that the bombs being made in Burdwan were reportedly intended for terror attacks in Bangladesh.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s flaws so far related to her failure to rise above of being a rabble-rouser to play an administrative role, her intolerance towards critics and the harbouring of anti-social elements who appear to have migrated to the TMC from the Left parties, and also of disreputable MPs like Tapas Paul. But, the latest allegations are the most serious of all since they paint the TMC in anti-national colours. If the state government fails to act against the culprits, the rise of the BJP in West Bengal which became evident in recent elections will continue.