NEW DELHI: Manju Berman was sitting quietly on a chair at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, where she had come to see PM Narendra Modi take oath for the second time. She was sitting holding a photo of her son Tapas Berman, who was killed about eight months ago. When asked, she said she had come from South 24 Parganas in West Bengal. “I have complete faith in (Narendra) Modi. I have come here for justice,” she said.
Narrating her story, she said her son was killed by police at the behest of ruling Trinamool in the state. “My son wanted to read and learn Bangla. But the teacher at his school wanted him to follow Urdu. One day he was killed,” she said. Manju is one among the nearly 65 people who had come to Delhi from different parts of West Bengal, ruled by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government. The party performed poorly as the BJP was able to make a dent in its voter base.
In a gesture of goodwill, the Modi government invited for his swearing-in ceremony the family members of BJP workers who have lost their lives in incidents of political violence in Bengal. The invitees include the families of those killed in the last six years during panchayat and LS polls in the state.
Krishnapad has a similar story of torture. He reached Delhi from Purulia in Bengal. “My brother was innocent. He was killed by the Trinamool during the panchayat polls last year. The police did not help us,” he said. Monika, wife of Dulal, who came along, said, “I have come as I have faith in Modi ji. I know we will get justice. We want CBI enquiry into the case.”Meanwhile, Mamata on Thursday accused the BJP of trying to create a divide between Bengalis and non-Bengalis in the state, urging people to raise their voice against the “torture of BJP”.