"West Bengal ruled by hooliganism": Tripura BJP chief condemns attack on party leaders

Agartala (Tripura) [India], October 8 (ANI): Tripura Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Rajib Bhattacharjee on Tuesday strongly condemned the attack on party leaders, MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh, in West Bengal, saying that the state is "ruled by hooliganism."
Bhattacharjee urged people in West Bengal to unite and oppose the hooliganism of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
"West Bengal is ruled by hooliganism. The culture of hooliganism is not a new phenomenon--it has been present for a long time. During the 36 years of Communist rule, there was also a reign of terror and violence. After them, the Trinamool Congress came to power, which continues to practice this 'guda raj', a syndicate-rule government. The people of West Bengal must unite and oppose this hooliganism," Bhattacharjee, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, told ANI.
The BJP leader informed that MLA Shankar Ghosh and Malda North MP Khagen Murmu were "attacked by local TMC leaders" while they were on their way to assess the situation in flood-affected areas of North Bengal.
"We all witnessed the devastating effects of floods in North Bengal. To help and assess the situation in the affected areas, our MP, Khagen Murmu--who is a respected tribal leader and a two-time Member of Parliament--along with BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh, visited those regions to see what kind of assistance the people needed," Bhattacharjee said.
"However, during their visit, local Trinamool Congress leaders attacked both Khagen Murmu and Shankar Ghosh. The assault on Khagen Murmu was brutal--worse than how animals are treated. Hooliganism may exist in politics, but the way TMC workers beat Khagen Murmu was utterly inhumane. This shows that the TMC government is not governing the state--they are running a regime of terror," he added.
Urging people to protest against the West Bengal government, the BJP leader demanded that lawlessness must come to an end.
"I want to tell the government in Kolkata to put an end to this lawlessness. Everyone should unite and protest against this hooligan rule. This is my earnest appeal. Just a few days ago, we all celebrated the Durga Puja festival. I want to remind the Chief Minister, who is a woman herself, to end this violence and restore peace in the state. The entire nation is watching what is happening in West Bengal today," Bhattacharjee said.
Further targeting the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, the BJP leader stated that no action was being taken despite the occurrence of "grave incidents".
"West Bengal contributes one of the highest shares of revenue collection in the country. Yet, despite that, there are no jobs, women and students are unsafe, and everyone knows what happened at RG Kar Medical College and Government Law College. Incidents like these are damaging our entire ecosystem," Bhattacharjee said.
"Even after such grave incidents, no action is being taken," he added.
Some local persons reportedly attacked the BJP MP while he was visiting flood-affected areas in Jalpaiguri's Dooars region on October 6 to oversee relief and rescue operations. The BJP MP sustained serious injuries to the head. Along with Murmu, BJP MLA Ghosh also alleged he was attacked while distributing relief materials.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met BJP MP Murmu in the hospital on Tuesday.
The incident sparked a row between the BJP and the TMC in West Bengal as Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the state government over the incident. Meanwhile, CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that he was politicising the floods and landslides in North Bengal, calling it "unfortunate and deeply concerning." (ANI)