A fact-finding BJP committee headed by BJP MP Vinod Sonkar, which looked into incidents of violence during the recent West Bengal panchayat polls, alleged that a "sickening symbol of shameful democracy" was witnessed during the elections, in its report to party president J P Nadda. It is necessary for the country to know that democracy has ended in Bengal, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was the convenor of the fact-finding committee, told reporters.
The five-member team sent by the BJP leadership over post-panchayat poll violence in Bengal, comprises MPs Suresh Kasyap, Vinod Chavda, S Muniswamy and Manoj Rajoria. They spoke to people, who claimed to have been at the receiving end of atrocities by ruling Trinamool Congress activists in the state, at Tarakeswar in Hooghly district. The ruling TMC however, dubbed the visit of the fact-finding team as a diversionary" tactic from the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur.
"The state government's arrogance and utter disrespect for democratic processes are dismaying. The BJP will continue to fight for the people's voice in West Bengal in a democratic way," Nadda said after receiving the report. Prasad claimed that an "overpowering fear" became the hallmark of these polls and cited several incidents of violence, including killings, and the suffering of the families targeted for political reasons.
BJP demands probe into violence
The state police, civil authorities and a "cooperative" state election committee facilitated this, Prasad said, adding that the committee has demanded that all cases of violence be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the state police and administration are complicit and biased. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) should investigate the cases involving bomb explosion as it is a scheduled offence, he said.
"What is this happening Mamata ji? This is condemnable," he said, showing pictures of violence and vandalisation of properties of political targets, most of whom, Prasad added, were from deprived and backward communities. It appeared that the entire machinery was used to ensure win for the state's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and attack its rivals, he said.
If the polls were held fairly, he said he has no hesitation in saying that the saffron party would have swept the panchayat elections. The BJP still won 11,000 gram panchayant seats, while all other opposition parties like the Congress and the Left were confined to 4,000 seats, Prasad added.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that the law and order situation had collapsed in West Bengal. "Not just Malda but various other places in Bengal have witnessed atrocities post the Panchayat elections...Crime against women is saddening & strict action should be taken against the perpetrators...,” he said.
Since elections were announced last month, at least 33 people have lost their lives in poll-related violence, with the ruling party suffering 60 per cent of the deaths, PTI reported.
