Face-off with TMC, Congress, BJP Delegations Prevented from Visiting Sandeshkhali

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Feb 16: The Congress and the BJP are on the same page in fighting against the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal as the police prevented separate delegations of the two parties from visiting Sandeshkhali on Friday to ascertain the BJP allegations of rape of women by the TMC goons.

The police cited prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in force in Sandeshkhali banning gathering of more than four persons to prevent the political delegations from visiting the village close to Bangladesh border which is simmering since January 5 following a raid by the Enforcement Directorate on a TMC local strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

The BJP has repeatedly claimed that women in the village have been raped and sexually harassed by the aides of Sheikh Shahjahan and the ruling party was not letting complaints be filed. The Trinamool has rubbished the allegations, accusing the BJP of trying to foment trouble, and the Bengal police has also said no complaints have been received.

Friday’s six-member BJP delegation was led by a Union minister and this was the third time a team from the party has been stopped from going to the village on a fact-finding mission. The BJP delegation also met West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to apprise him of the situation.

The Congress delegation was led by the party’s West Bengal chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and was stopped by police on way to restive Sandeshkhali area. The Congress delegation encountered initial hindrance from police officials at Sarberia and subsequently at Rampur, along the path to Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. Authorities cited prohibitory orders as the reason behind the prevention of the Congress delegation’s entry into Sandeshkhali.

Mr Chowdhury condemned the Mamata Banerjee-led government, asserting that it was attempting to politicise the situation. He questioned the state government’s rationale behind denying access to opposition parties, stating, “Why are opposition parties being prevented from entering Sandeshkhali? What is the state government trying to hide? Why are they trying to politicise it?” Following the interruption at Rampur village, Mr Chowdhury and Congress workers staged a sit-in, leading to a minor altercation with police.

The attempt by the Congress has implications for the INDIA alliance at a time when Trinamool Congress l chief Mamata Banerjee has said her party would contest the Lok Sabha elections alone.

When the police stopped them, citing prohibitory orders in the village, Mr Chowdhury said, “The chief minister is the Bengali queen of cruelty. The people of Bengal and all of India have seen you for who you are. From the panchayat to the state government to MPs, all are yours. Did you not know something of this kind was happening in Sandeshkhali? You have spoken out in favour of Shahjahan earlier.”

Constituted by party President JP Nadda, the BJP’s delegation consisted of six MPs, including two Union ministers, and was led by Union Minister Annapurna Devi. The BJP team was also stopped in Rampur and, after starting a sit-in protest, Annapurna Devi said, “If only the police had shown the same urgency in arresting Shahjahan as they have in stopping us… If the police had acted when the women in the village were being tortured by Shahjahan’s goons and were crying out for justice, we wouldn’t have had to see this day.”

Shahjahan has been on the run since an Enforcement Directorate team was attacked by a mob during a raid on his house in connection with an alleged ration scam on January 5. Some women in the village have named two of Shahjahan’s aides, Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar, to be harassing them. While Sardar has been arrested, the police are on the lookout for Hazra.

On Thursday, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the BJP for the situation and said there was an “RSS base” in Sandeshkhali. “I have never allowed injustice in my life. I sent (representatives of) the state women’s commission (to Sandeshkhali) immediately and 17 people have been arrested,” Ms Banerjee said in the Assembly. “First, they (the BJP) entered the area and targeted Sheikh Shahjahan through the Enforcement Directorate and then they started the trouble there by getting people in. There is a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) base in Sandeshkhali. There were riots earlier too,” she said.

Mr Chowdhury, however, in targeting the TMC supported the BJP contention and criticised Ms Banerjee for purportedly “communalising the issue.” “The chief minister, instead of acknowledging that the incidents in Sandeshkhali are a matter of shame, is attempting to imbue them with a communal narrative by introducing the aspects of Hindus and Muslims. We condemn such communal politics,” he asserted.

The BJP and the National Commission for Women (NCW) accused the TMC and the state government of complicity in crimes against women in Sandeshkhali. Responding to Ms Banerjee’s assertion that the RSS has a presence in Sandeshkhali and has been a focal point of communal clashes, Mr Chowdhury, a longstanding critic of the chief minister, questioned the relevance of the RSS in the violence.

“What connection does the RSS have with the disturbances in Sandeshkhali? Are Uttam Sardar or Shibu Hazra, Hindus or Muslims?” he queried. “It is during the TMC’s 13-year tenure that the RSS has expanded its influence across the state. Who bears responsibility for this? The TMC cannot shirk their accountability,” he emphasised.

Protests in Sandeshkhali persisted for the eighth consecutive day, with a significant presence of female demonstrators demanding the arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.