KOLKATA: Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) MP from Cooch Behar Jagdishchandra Basunia and his wife, Trinamool Congress MLA from Sitai in Cooch Behar district, Sangeeta Roy, were forced to leave their residence in Sitai around 2 am on Tuesday amid protests by local residents.
Basunia, one of 20 rebel Trinamool MPs who joined the NCPI and extended support to the BJP-led NDA in Parliament, and Roy returned to their Sitai residence on Tuesday night after three months. Soon after locals learned of their arrival, protesters gathered outside the house, prevented them from entering and demanded that they leave.
The protesters alleged that the two elected representatives had been absent from their constituencies for a long time. Basunia had been in Delhi for the past three months, while Roy had not been seen in Sitai since the Bengal Assembly election results were announced on May 4, they claimed. However, Roy was reportedly in Kolkata for the treatment of their son.
The MP and MLA reached their residence at Sitai market with strong security arrangements. Protesters, without party flags or banners, rushed to the area, cordoned off the residence and shouted slogans demanding their departure.
Basunia told the media, “I don’t want any trouble in the area and that’s why we are leaving. I had gone to take my several necessary documents lying at my residence and stock of the law and order situation in the Sitai area. But a group of people created trouble there.”
BJP Cooch Behar district president Avijit Burman said, “I have no information about who is coming or leaving his/her residence? We have already instructed our party workers not to stage such protest. We have nothing to do if common people staged such protests on Tuesday midnight.”