BJP in Bengal calls march to Nabanna rally in April-end

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal has called a rally for march to Nabanna – the state government’s administrative headquarters – in April end. The date has not yet been finalised, but talks are on to schedule it on April 22 or 23. The main issue for the protest march is alleged breakdown of law and order in West Bengal.

The BJP has been attacking the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Mamata Banerjee government on several issues in the past few weeks, mainly the Rampurhat massacre of March 21. On that day, eight persons were killed in Birbhum district’s Bogtui village of Rampurhat, when around ten houses were torched by miscreants. The ninth person, Najma Bibi, died earlier this week. The incident is alleged to be a retaliation after a local Trinamool leader Bhadu Sheikh was killed in a crude bomb attack. Fire brigade personnel found the charred bodies from a house. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a probe on the incident followed by the Calcutta High Court’s directive.

A BJP team that visited the area has submitted a report to the party’s Delhi leadership stating that the killings of Bogtui were the result of “state-sponsored extortion, goonda tax, cut-money and tolabaji,” adding that the rivalry over bribe amounts between those benefitting from these was another reason that led to the killings. Recently, BJP and Trinamool MLAs came to blows in the state Assembly over the issue. The party leaders are alleging “a breakdown of law and order” in the state.