Sandeshkhali: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee warns BJP, says "do not disrespect the mothers of Bengal"

Birbhum (West Bengal) [India], May 5 (ANI): After alleging that the so called "sexual assault at Sandeshkhali" was "scripted", West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday warned the BJP not to disrespect the mothers of Bengal as once self-respect of a women is lost it cannot be regained.
While speaking at a rally in Birbhum, the CM said, "Did anyone understand how the incident was scripted? Did anyone understand how Sandeshkhali was scripted with money? The BJP should remember that money can be earned back once spent, but once a mother's self-respect is lost, it can never be regained. Do not disrespect the mothers of Bengal; do not insult them. I am warning you."
Earlier, while taking to X, CM Banerjee said she has long accused the BJP of tarnishing Bengal's image through the Sandeshkhali incident, adding that the sting operation unveiled the true motives of the anti-Bangla (party).
"I had for long stated that the BJP has been trying to malign the image of Bengal by orchestrating the Sandeshkhali incident. The sting operation revealed the real face of the Bangla-Birodhis as they tried to manipulate the emotions of my mothers and sisters. On the 13th of May, the people of Ranaghat shall ensure that the Bangla-Birodhis are ousted from Bengal!" the CM said in a post on X.
Earlier in the day, Abhishek Banerjee, TMC national general secretary and Mamata Banerjee's nephew, claimed that BJP leaders offered Rs 2,000 to women and asked them to make fake complaints about the Sandeshkhali incident.
"What is the condition of BJP?... They had said a lot about Sandeshkhali but yesterday everyone saw the Sandeshkhali video. Yesterday, it was proved that this was done to humiliate the people of Bengal...By giving Rs 2,000 each to the women, BJP leaders asked them to lie and make false complaints...This is not me but Gangadhar Kayal, BJP Mandal (booth) president in Sandeshkhali, who is saying this," he said.
On Saturday, a video of a sting operation surfaced that has stirred up controversy in Sandeshkhali which was broadcast by a local television channel. In the alleged video, a person, purportedly a BJP Mandal (booth) president named Gangadhar Koyal is heard saying that Sandeshkhali women, who weren't sexually assaulted, were projected as 'rape' victims at the behest of the LoP.
Claiming that Suvendu 'helped' him get this done, the person in the video said that the former told him that the TMC's strongmen in the area wouldn't be arrested unless he is falsely implicated in a "rape case".
However, the news channel that broke the alleged sting operation did not check the veracity of the clip.
Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhali accused, is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on a team of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) while it was in the process of raiding his residence in connection with the alleged ration scam.
The women of Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district came out on the streets earlier against the ruling TMC and Shahjahan, accusing the strongman and his aides of perpetrating gross excesses and atrocities on them while also gobbling up their land. Multiple women on the island accused Shajahan and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion. (ANI)
Although the Trinamool Congress (TMC) remains a member of the INDIA bloc, it has decided not to enter into a seat-sharing alliance with its partners in the Opposition alliance, which includes Congress and the Left. The main competition in most constituencies of the state is between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
West Bengal, which sends 42 MPs, to Parliament, is voting in all seven phases. Polling for six Lok Sabha seats in Bengal was held across the first two phases on April 19 and 26.
Polling for the remaining parliamentary seats will be held on May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1. (ANI)