BJP accused of imposing social boycott on 6 families supporting Trinamool in Tufanganj

Cooch Behar: The BJP is facing accusations of imposing a social boycott on six families who support the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Shalbari-2 Gram Panchayat (GP) in Tufanganj.

These families have reported that they are not allowed to cultivate their land and they are even being prevented from buying goods from market shops in the area. The Trinamool supporters from these six families have approached the Block Development Officer (BDO) for assistance and have submitted a written complaint to the BDO of Tufanganj 2 Block.

Furthermore, it was alleged that garbage was dumped at the residence of Sumitra Bairagi, a Trinamool Congress leader and the former head (Pradhan) of Balrampur-2 GP. Allegedly, the BJP is obstructing any work on their land as well. However, the district leadership of the BJP has vehemently denied these allegations.

The BJP emerged victorious in the Panchayat elections in Tufanganj Shalbari No. 2 GP. Since assuming office, the BJP has been accused of intimidating the community in various ways. TMC supporters such as Sushanta Shil, Bhajan Shil, Bhabesh Das, Rajkumar Barman, Siddhinath Barman, and Amar Shil campaigned for their party during the Panchayat elections.

However, since the BJP took control of the board, all these Trinamool Congress workers claim to have been prevented from going to the market and cultivating their land. Allegedly, they are unable to carry out any agricultural activities on their own land, and even the jute that was grown on their land remains unharvested. District Trinamool Congress president Abhijit De Bhowmik led a protest march in the area on Sunday in response to these allegations. He stated: “In Cooch Behar district, the BJP is continuing to exert pressure on the 23 Gram Panchayats it won. We will organise a larger protest against these actions.”

However, district BJP president Sukumar Roy has vehemently denied the allegations, labelling them as baseless. He asserted: “These allegations are without merit. In fact, the BJP has taken over the Gram Panchayats, and false claims are being made against us.”