A political clash on Saturday night in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali – in Basirhat area of South 24 Parganas district – led to major repercussions in the state politics. Two workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one worker from Trinamool Congress were officially dead, with both parties claiming some of their workers were still missing.
The Nazat area of Sandeshkhali is the epicentre of the political clash – which took place on Saturday night – as both BJP and Trinamool Congress claim that their party supporters were shot dead and injured with sharp weapons. The clash apparently took place over removing some political party flags in the area. Saturday night’s clash and murders made the situation tense in Basirhat – leading to the administration stop internet and cable services and imposing Section 144.
On Sunday morning, the situation worsened as a Trinamool Congress team of senior leaders Jyotipriya Mullick, Sujit Basu, Tapas Roy, Madan Mitra went to the area and met the slain Trinamool Congress worker’s family members. This was followed by a BJP team reaching the area – led by state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh. Others in the team were BJP leaders Locket Chatterjee, Rahul Sinha, Sayantan Basu among others.
The BJP team tried to bring with them the bodies of the slain BJP workers to Kolkata, which the police tried to stop. The BJP leaders claimed they wanted to bring the bodies to cremate them at Nimtala crematorium in the city. But the police said this could not be done — fearing that the party would parade the bodies in the city and this could lead to worsening law and order situation — and said they would have to complete the last rites in the Minakha area of South 24 Parganas.
The BJP supporters has an altercation with the police, but finally the leaders agreed that the last rites would be performed in the Minakha area itself “for the sake of the families of the deceased”.
The BJP has called a 12-hour bandh in Basirhat on Monday, and a march to the city police headquarters, Lalbazar, has been called on June 12.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked for a report from the state on the entire incident. The Centre has also sent an advisory and asked the police to take firm action and ensure law and order situation remains under control.
The Trinamool Congress reacted sharply to this advisory saying the Centre and the BJP in Bengal were working together to put the Bengal administration under pressure. The state government though has written to the Centre saying action has been taken and the situation is turning normal gradually.
West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathy will meet Union home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
