Two leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from West Bengal on Monday said that they will implement the “Uttar Pradesh model of conducting encounters” in the state if the party is voted to power here.
Sayantan Basu and Raju Bandopadhyay – both BJP leaders from the state – said this today in two separate programmes. This has sparked a major controversy in the state.
The BJP today held protests and demonstrations outside the offices of police superintendents all over the state. Basu – who was BJP candidate from Basirhat constituency – was outside the North 24 Parganas police superintendent office in a protest demonstration when he threatened that the “encounter policy of UP” would be introduced in Bengal if the hooligans could not be arrested. The BJP would not let anyone get away with tarnishing Bengal politics and if the Trinamool Congress leaders cannot be arrested, the police would be instructed to conduct “encounters”.
Raju Bandopadhyay said the same in Bankura today. He said that the Trinamool Congress leaders who had taken “cut money” – a share of money from programmes and schemes from beneficiaries – would be bumped off by the police through encounters. He said the Trinamool Congress leaders must display posters saying they would never indulge in such malpractices again. Else, they should be killed in police encounters, he said.
In the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, Sayantan Basu, BJP’s candidate from Basirhat (who lost to Trinamool Congress’ Nusrat Jahan) had said that the Central forces must shoot those who came to loot votes during the elections. His comments had led to a major controversy then.
Recently, West Bengal chief minister – on receiving the Central government’s advisory on the state’s law and order situation – had alleged that people were being killed in Uttar Pradesh through police encounters. Following Basu and Bandopadhyay’s comments today, Trinamool Congress leaders said that this was completely illegal and the BJP leaders’ comments was a clear indication what Bengal could face if the party is voted to power.
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