Mamata blames RSS for unrest in Sandeshkhali, alleges it has a base there
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday blamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological parent, for the unrest in strife-hit Sandeshkhali and alleged “there were other plans” during Saraswati Puja.
“RSS has a base there. Riots took place there 7-8 years ago. It is one of the vulnerable riot spots. We handled the situation strongly during Saraswati Puja or else there were other plans,” she said in the Bengal Assembly.
Outlining steps taken by her administration, the Bengal chief minister said, “I have never supported violence. State Women’s Commission and administrative officials had been dispatched to the area. Our women police teams are present there to address grievances,” she added in the House.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s high command sent a six-member fact-finding team which will visit Sandeshkhali on Friday. The team landed in Kolkata on Thursday evening.
Sandeshkhali has been on the edge since three officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were bashed up and left bleeding when they went to search the house of local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh in a foodgrain scam case on January 5. After the TMC leader and his men went missing following the attack on the federal agency, women of the area mustered up their courage to protest against the alleged sexual abuse by the ruling party’s satraps.
Blaming the law enforcers for working hand in glove with “rowdy elements” in Sandeshkhali, where local women have been protesting against sexual abuse by local satraps of the ruling Trinamool Congress, governor C. V. Ananda Bose submitted a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday mentioning the locals’ demand of constituting a Special Task Force (STF) to probe into the alleged nexus.
In his report, Bose described the situation in Sandeshkhali as “highly reprehensive” and mentioned the locals’ allegation that goonda elements disguised as policemen are trespassing into victims’ houses in the night.
“I have taken stock of the matter through direct interaction with the victims and by making extensive field visits in Sandeshkhali. In my considered opinion, the situation there is highly reprehensible," the governor said in his report.
The report also named some of the followers of TMC strongman Shahjahan. “The ghastly, shocking and shattering assault on the modesty, dignity and honour of women in large numbers by a small gang who display symptoms of anti-social personality disorder does not bring credit to anyone down the line in a democratic regime,” the report read.
Saying that the people in Sandeshkhali are confused on whether to identify the protectors and offenders, Bose said in the report, “From the interaction with the victims, it is evident that the competent authorities of the locality have failed to instil confidence among the harassed and affected villagers. The precarious situation where people are in a confusion as to who are the offenders and who are the protectors does not augur well for a democratic society.”
On Thursday, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari attempted to enter Sandeshkhali along with three other BJP MLAs but he was not allowed by police at the entry point. “I came with three MLAs to comply with the Section 144 of CrPC clamped by the state government on Wednesday. Though the prohibitory order allows me to visit Sandeshkhali with three of my colleagues, the police did not allow me. I will move court against the police action,” said Adhikari after staging a two-hour sit-in-demonstration at the entry-point of Sandeshkhali.