KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh has written to Union Home minister Amit Shah alleging that Mamata Banerjee government’s policies are "enabling" Maoist resurgence in Junglemahal where the saffron camp performed impressively in last year’s general election.
Seeking the Centre’s immediate intervention, Ghosh also alleged the TMC is playing a "dangerous double game" of opposing Maoism publicly while enabling the outlawed outfit’s resurgence "privately" for political gain.
Referring to NIA’s recent arrests of six suspected Al-Qaeda operatives from Murshidabad district, Ghosh wrote, "The policy of overt appeasement by the TMC to retain its vote bank has enabled radical Islamic terror outfits to carry on their activities. Under TMC rule, West Bengal has seen the blossoming of the illegal bomb and weapon-making industry as the ruling party is dependent upon violence to maintain its power. This has once again enabled terrorist activity as the materials needed by them are now easily available in the state."
Ghosh’s letter referring to the arrests of six suspects is a clear indication that the Bengal BJP’s is going to encash the NIA’s operation to ensure electoral dividend by polarising electorates on the line of religion ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. He said in his letter that West Bengal has turned into a fertile breeding ground for terrorism.
Mentioning the Maoist’s act of hoisting black flags on Independence Day in Junglemahal, Ghosh said, "The timing of this resurgence, once again, puts the role of the TMC in the spotlight. How come Maoist activity is suddenly on the rise in the run-up to the Vidhan Sabha election in West Bengal in 2021?
"Adding to these suspicious circumstances is the release of notorious Maoist leader Chhatradhar Mahato by the TMC government. Mahato has not only been released, but he has also been made a TMC office bearer. The TMC seems to be playing a dangerous double game of opposing Maoism publicly while enabling its resurgence privately for political gain."
"I urge you and the central government to take the most stringent measures needed to end these threats to our security and democracy. It is my strong recommendation that the central government should take stringent action to shut down the bomb-making industries, fake currency rackets, the smuggling operations and the factories of radicalisation to end the terror threat once and for all," Ghosh wrote to Shah.
Rubbishing Ghosh’s allegations, the TMC said it was BJP’s propaganda to mislead people. "Ghosh’s letter is nothing other than a bunch of lies," said a TMC leader.