TMC condemns Anurag Thakur’s ‘Bengal sheltering anti-national forces’ remark

Kolkata: With the Union minister Anurag Thakur, on Monday, accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) of allegedly providing shelter to “anti-national forces” in Bengal, the latter has hit back reminding Thakur that it was the Bengal Police which helped in nabbing the two accused in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Café blast case.

During his election campaign in Siliguri, Thakur is learnt to have asked reporters why actors of terror activities, committed in the state or elsewhere in the country, “find protection and shelter in West Bengal”. 

“Under the nose of Mamata Banerjee, corruption thrives, and atrocities on women are overlooked,” Thakur alleged.

The BJP leader also referred to cases of extortion, land grabbing, and sexual assault on women in Sandeshkhalii in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.

Rebutting his claims, TMC leader and state Cabinet minister Shashi Panja said: “The Union minister Anurag Thakur said Bengal gives shelter to terrorists. He either said it to spread lies or did not know the facts himself.

The reality is West Bengal police arrested the two accused in Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Café blast case. Thakur has been making hate speeches for the past few years. Why isn’t he instead telling us the reason why the Centre stopped funds for Bengal?”

Recently, Panja’s party colleague Kunal Ghosh alleged on social media that Contai in East Midnapore, from where the arrests were made, is an area where the family of a state BJP leader runs illegal activities. He urged the state agencies to conduct a probe to find out the family’s links in providing shelter to “anti-forces”.

Panja too raised similar questions: “Why were they found in Kanthi (Contai), what is the connection there? Our chairperson Mamata Banerjee has also raised the question of how the individuals nabbed by the NIA found shelter in Kanthi? BJP is trying to avoid this and hence they are diverting people’s attention.”

The NIA recently arrested two chief suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from East Midnapore.

The NIA, in its statement, had reportedly said: “This pursuit was supported by coordinated action and cooperation among the NIA, Central intelligence agencies and the state police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala”.