Sandeshkhali violence sparks political duel; TMC says ‘villagers instigated’

Kolkata: The violence at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas on Friday morning, surrounding an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid in connection with the alleged ration scam, sparked political tension in Bengal with the Opposition parties alleging failure of law-and-order machinery while the ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleging that the state was kept in the dark by the Central probe agency and that villagers were instigated by the central forces.

Violence rocked Sandeshkhali in the morning when an ED team accompanied by Central forces attempted to raid the house of a local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam in the state. No sooner than the ED attempted to make an entry into the house, hundreds of villagers stormed the area, chasing away the ED officers and the central forces from the place. Many, including some of the ED officers and media personnel, were attacked by the angry mob, forcing them to flee the spot to save their lives. The vehicles were also ransacked by the irate mob.

The incident led to the state government drawing flak from Opposition party leaders such as Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Suvendu Adhikari who blamed it for failing to maintain law and order.

Governor CV Ananda Bose has said that Bengal cannot be allowed to become a “banana republic” and insisted that the state has to perform its duty of ensuring peace.

Addressing a press conference, leader Shashi Panja later said that the state was kept in the dark about the raid. “Had the state government been intimated about the raid steps could have been taken to avert such a situation. If the priority was secrecy, then at least the state’s chief secretary could have been informed. There are sensitive areas in every state,” she remarked.

Panja said that TMC condemned the attack by the angry mob but alleged that the villagers were instigated by the central forces.

Commenting on the Opposition’s call for a President’s Rule in Bengal, she said that it is nothing new and that the BJP tries to paint a picture of the collapse of law and order in Bengal before every election in the hope of winning some seats. “BJP has been making inflammatory statements to instigate the villagers. The Centre has the power to impose President’s Rule so let them decide on this matter,” she added.

She also added that the BJP-led central government is continuing to misuse the central probe agencies against the Opposition parties. She said: “There is, however, no probe against the BJP leaders whose names have also cropped up in corruption cases such as Suvendu Adhikari and Himanta Biswa Sarma.”

Meanwhile, reacting on the Sandeshkhali incident, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court raised questions on why the Central forces did not take any action and did they not have guns.

The comments by the judge drew flak from the TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, who said that it was out of line for a sitting judge to have made such a comment.