KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress on Monday said a five-member party delegation will visit ethnic strife-torn Manipur on July 14. On the same day, a committee of BJP parliamentarians said it will visit West Bengal to probe the cases of violence during the panchayat polls in the state.
More than 120 people have lost their lives and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, who include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.
The TMC delegation will comprise Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen and Sushmita Dev and Lok Sabha MPs Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Kalyan Banerjee.
On the other hand, violence had rocked West Bengal's rural polls on July 8, leaving 15 people dead while ballot boxes were vandalised, ballot papers torched, and bombs thrown at rivals in several places.
The BJP committee, headed by former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, consists of former Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh, Rajdeep Roy and party vice-president Rekha Verma. After their visit, they will present a report to party president J P Nadda.
TMC blames BJP for Manipur situation; BJP says 'send fact-finding teams to Bengal first'
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had recently accused the BJP of using "divisive" politics in Manipur and blamed it for a "failure" on the part of the central government to restore peace in the northeastern state.
Banerjee had also claimed that she wrote to the Centre to allow her to visit Manipur but didn't receive a reply.
Bengal BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the TMC should first send fact-finding teams to districts in their state, calling it "an attempt to divert attention from the violence in Bengal."
Of those who died on the polling day, 11 were affiliated with the TMC.
The total death toll in the state, since the rural poll process began on June 8 when the dates were announced, has crossed 30.
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(With inputs from PTI)