Following the violence that erupted minutes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah’s rally ended yesterday at Kanthi, a town 150 kilometres outside Kolkata, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Union home minister Rajnath Singh had an exchange of angry words.
The home minister called Mamata Banerjee yesterday afternoon after reports of violence emerged from Kanthi when the chief minister is reported to have told him to ‘control his party’ and not ‘provoke trouble in peaceful Bengal’.
Kanthi turned into a veritable battlefield after Amit Shah’s rally. Trinamool offices were attacked, buses stoned and motorcycles set on fire. Even the traffic on the state highway stood paralysed as reports of violence kept trickling in till late evening. To control the situation, a huge police deployment was made.
While Trinamool leaders have accused the BJP supporters of launching a ‘pre-planned’ attack with bricks and lathis and ransacking their own vehicles, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has retorted saying that TMC now stands for ‘Talibani Mamatar Karmo’.
Seeking a detailed report within 24 hours, the Union home minister had called up Mamata Banerjee. Sources report that the chief minister replied asking Rajnath Singh to ‘control’ the BJP’s leaders and not disrupt peace in Bengal.
In Amit Shah’s rally yesterday, the BJP leader attacked the Mamata government for the ponzi scams which he said took place under its watch. Swearing that his party would make the guilty party ‘vomit’ out all the money they have stolen from the unsuspecting depositors, he mocked the West Bengal chief minister for not taking any action against the ‘chit-fund wallas’ as they paid hefty amounts of money for her paintings.
The BJP has set the target of 23 out of 42 seats in West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in May.
