Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has asked the Bengal Government to immediately submit a factual report on the Monday’s attack on BJP MP from Malda North constituency Khagen Murmu.
The Speaker had sought an urgent factual report from the Bengal Government on the incident and “the consequence can be severe if the report is not submitted on time,” Union Minister Kiran Rijiju said adding the attack on the BJP leaders reflected the environment that Trinamool Congress had built in Bengal.
“This is unfortunate. The Lok Sabha Speaker has served a notice and the West Bengal Government will present a report. What action needs to be taken can be spoken about only after getting the details,” the Minister said.
Murmu and Bengal BJP MLA and Chief Whip Shankar Ghosh who had gone to inspect and distribute relief in the flood hit Nagrakata area in Jalpaiguri district were attacked by alleged Trinamool Congress men with stones. While Ghosh escaped with minor injuries Murmu got a broken bone beneath his eyes which orofacial surgeons said could hamper his visions.
He was presently getting treatment in a private medical facility in Siliguri.
With no arrest taking place even after FIRs being lodged against eight people the BJP on Tuesday demanded an investigation to be conducted either by National Investigation Agency or Central Bureau of Investigation. Meanwhile, the incident led to a war of words between Prime Minister Narendra and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Condemning the attack the Prime Minister said “the manner in which our party colleagues, including a sitting MP and MLA, were attacked in West Bengal for serving the people affected by floods and landslides is outright appalling. It highlights the insensitivity of the TMC as well as the absolutely pathetic law and order situation in the ,” calling upon BJP workers to “continue working among the people and assist the ongoing rescue operations.”
Banerjee hit back alleging that the Centre and the Prime Minister were indulging in politics when the people of North Bengal had been hit by a natural disaster “It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that the Prime Minister of India has chosen to politicise a natural disaster without waiting for a proper investigation, especially while people in North Bengal are grappling with the aftermath of devastating floods and landslides,” she wrote on X, adding “The PM has blamed the TMC and the West Bengal Government outright without a shred of verified evidence, legal enquiry, or administrative report.
This is not just a political low, it is a breach of the constitutional ethos the Prime Minister has sworn to uphold. In any democracy, the law must take its own course, and only due process can determine culpability - not a tweet from a political pulpit.”
Banerjee also accused the Prime Minister of ignoring her letters on creation of Indo-Bhutan water commission so as to avert future such crises. “This has been a man-made calamity , they are releasing water from 56 rivers from Bhutan and in some cases from Sikkim and Bengal is suffering because of that I had sent a letter to the PM stating that there should be an India-Bhutan River Commission, else north Bengal would continue to face the consequences.
Bhutan has 56 rivers, and 40 hydropower plants have been constructed in Sikkim. But I have not received any response. In south Bengal, it is the DVC. Panchet and Maithon and they don’t dredge Farakka (all run and controlled by the Centre).”
In a parallel development, the Bengal BJP upped the ante against the TMC Government organising wide protests with its senior leaders including Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya demanding NIA or CBI investigation into the incident.
“We demand NIA investigation rest assured whosoever has perpetrated the attack will be chased and captured from even Pataal (abyss) none will be spared,” Bhattacharya said while Adhikari demanding similar investigations said he had reports that “some special communities were involved in the attack.”
He said “I won’t name but there are certain special communities who are involved in the attack and we have reports that there is a Jamaat hand who are functioning from Bangladesh this must be investigated into and the truth must be uncovered.”
While both the Chief Minister and Adhikari on Tuesday visited ailing Murmu Banerjee tended to shift the blame on the BJP leadership saying “even I do not take so many vehicles to such areas which had been affected by floods and land is soft there if you take a caravan of 29 vehicles then it can impact the land.”
On the other hand her party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh blamed the BJP leaders for the attack saying the locals got agitated because they saw the BJP leaders going to the area with a cavalcade of vehicles only to do politics.”
