"I doubt if Kailash Vijayvargiya-ji...": RJD MP counters BJP leader over Sandeshkhali statement

Patna (Maharashtra) [India], February 18 (ANI): Hitting back at BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya over his remarks that the events in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali not only goes to show the declining law and order but also the lack of respect for women in the state, RJD leader and Lok Sabha MP Manoj Jha, on Sunday, said such incidents were 'shameful' regardless of whether they were happening in a BJP or an Opposition-ruled state.
Speaking to media persons earlier, senior BJP leader Vijayvargiya said while baring the alarming state of law and order in Bengal, the incidents of Sandeshkhali in Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, have also brought to light the general state of apathy and lack of respect for women in the state.
In respose to his remarks, Jha told ANI on Sunday, "While acknowledging that the events in Sandeshkhali are reprehensible, I doubt if Kailash Vargiya-ji would have made such remarks had it been a BJP-ruled state. The reason why he made such a statement is because these incidents took place in Bengal. However, we don't differentiate between states like him. Such incidents put humanity to shame, regardless of whether they take place in an Opposition or a BJP-ruled state. Our behaviour, conduct, and statements in this matter should convey a sense of unecquivocal condemnation of what happened regardless of where."
Meanwhile, the BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who fell unconscious during a scuffle between BJP protesters and the police in Sandeshkhali, termed the incidents in Sandeshkhali as 'shameful' while also voicing concern over reports of women being allegedly coerced into submitting tom excesses and atrocities to avail benefits of government schemes.

"The reports coming out of andeshkhali are, indeed, puts us all to shame. Some reports claimed that women in Sandeshkhali were called over to TMC offices and raped. They were told that if they wanted the avail the benefits of state schemes, they would have to submit to the dictates of (absconding strongman) Sheikh Shahjahan, Shibu Hazra and Uttarm Sardar. Sheikh Shahjahan's name continues to come up over and over again. We demand that everyone behind these excesses on women be brought to book and the land seized from them returned at the earliest," Majumdar said.
"PM Modi might visit Basirhat (of which Sandeshkhali is a part) and hold a rally there on March 7. However, nothing is confirmed yet," he added.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik, who was part of the BJP's all-women fact-finding team that was stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali, on Sunday accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of orchestrating multiple incidents like 'Sandeshkhali' across the state.

"This government under Mamata Banerjee has orchestrated thousands of 'Sandeshkhali-like' incidents across West Bengal. Women of Sandeshkhali demonstrated immense courage to come out against the excesses that they had been facing for long. They raised the demand for women's safety. They are in dire straits. We tried to visit them but were stopped at Rampur. The state police are functioning as de facto TMC cadres. The situation in Sandeshkahali is alarming. I want to assure the women of Sandeshkhali that we are with them and they have nothing to fear," Bhoumik said.
"Because of the (ongoing) 2-day (BJP) national convention, we couldn't submit the report (on Sandeshkhali incidents). We'll submit the report tomorrow. The likes of Sheikh Shahjahan are on borrowed time and they will be tracked down and arrested once the report is submitted. The rights and dignity of the women of Sandeshkhali will be restored," the Union Minister added.
Earlier, on Friday, DIG (Barasat Range), Sumit Kumar said, "All necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety of one and all in Sandeshkhali. The police and government had to make special arrangements in the interest of security. We have made proper and adequate security arrangements. We urge the protesting locals to return to their normal lives. The police are doing their job. We are visiting villages and asking residents to give us complaints, if any, in writing. We will take all necessary actions as are warranted."
Women in Sandeshkhali have been agitating for the last few days over alleged atrocities committed against them by TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides. (ANI)