Politics

North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], February 16 (ANI): On a day when the National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC) called for the imposition of President's Rule in Bengal after visiting battleground Sandeshkhali, the Congress's state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed on Friday that neither the BJP nor the NDA government at the Centre will mobilise steps to do so.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Lok Sabha MP claimed, "Many may demand President's Rule in West Bengal, especially in the wake of the horrific events in Sandeshkhali. However, neither the ruling party in the country nor the NDA government at the Centre will take steps to impose President's Rule here, as their sole motive is to polarise voters and milk the prevailing situation in Sandeshkhali for electoral mileage. Both the BJP and the ruling TMC will try to exploit the current situation here to mine votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections."

The Congress state chief, who was leading a protest at Rampur after he was stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali on Friday, claimed that both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP stand to benefit electorally in the event of a 'communal polarisation' in the state.

"Both Mamata Banerjee and PM (Narendra) Modi will remember how their parties profited from communal polarisation in Bengal ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. People can raise many demands. Even we demand the same (imposition of President's Rule in Bengal). But the question remains: will they (BJP) implement it? Neither the BJP nor the ruling NDA at the Centre have the courage to implement President's Rule here, as a polarisation of votes suits both of them. Hence, rest assured that nothing will happen," the Congress leader said.

Adhikari added that since fugitive strongman Sheikh Shahjahan as well as his aides are from the TMC, the party supremo and the West Bengal chief minister need to answer for their alleged wrongs in Sandeshkhali.

"Why did the Sandeshkhali incident take place? Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has to answer. Shahjahan and his supporters are all products of the TMC. Why is Mamata silent on the Sandeshkhali incident? We want to know what the real incident was. What happened here? Why are people being barred from entering here?" Adhikari told reporters on being stopped by the police on his way to Sandeshkhali.

"Sandeshkhali is a sub-division of Basirhat and a part of West Bengal. Why then are we being stopped from entering this area?" Adhikari questioned.

The senior Congress leader also urged people not to fall for attempts to give the horrific events at Sandeshkhali a communal colour.

"I would urge one and all not to give a communal colour to the incidents in Sandeshkhali. Let's not make the incidents out to be the fallout of a conflict between two communities. Mamata is tactfully trying to give the events a communal spin and the same was evident from her recent statement in the Assembly. This is dangerous," Adhir added.

Earlier in the day, a six-member BJP delegation constituted by BJP national president JP Nadda was stopped by the state police from visiting Sandeshkhali.

Women in Sandeshkhali have been up in arms over the last few days over alleged atrocities on them.

Faced with Opposition fury over the events in Sandeshkhali, CM Mamata on Thursday made it clear that she has never condoned 'injustice'.

Claiming a BJP-RSS hand in the violence, she said she "needs to acquire full knowledge of the events" before deciding on the future course of action.

Accusing the RSS of inciting violence in the area, the CM said, "The RSS has a base in the area. There were riots here 7-8 years ago. The area is vulnerable to riots. We managed to enforce law and order during Saraswati Puja. They (BJP-RSS) had planned to foment trouble," the CM said. (ANI)