NEW DELHI, Feb 25: The union minister of state for home Nisith Paramanik faced an attack, allegedly by the Trinamool Congress workers, when he visited his home town Dinhata in Cooch Behar district in West Bengal on Saturday.
Stones were pelted at the vehicle of Pramanik, who is the Cooch Behar MP, at Dinhata, and after some BJP workers retaliated hurling stones at the TMC workers, a clash broke out between the workers of the rival parties. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob.
While Pramanik escaped unhurt, window panes of his vehicle were damaged, as were those of some accompanying vehicles. Pramanik was also shown black flags. Pramanik said the incident reflected the law and order situation in the state. “The TMC workers with the help of the police are targeting us. The police, instead of stopping the attackers, are shielding the real culprits. Today, my vehicle was attacked. Tomorrow, someone else might be targeted. We will take up this matter with the central government,” he said.
In Murshidabad district, the BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar was greeted with “go back” slogans by TMC workers at Sagardighi where he was campaigning for the upcoming Assembly bypoll. The situation, however, did not get out of control.
“This is the culture that the TMC is trying to establish in Bengal. They want to intimidate the Opposition by orchestrating such attacks. MPs, MLAs and Union ministers have no security. Only the TMC leaders are safe here. We strongly condemn this culture of violence,” Majumdar said.
The incidents followed the recent announcements by the TMC of holding protest demonstrations against Paramanik and other BJP leaders to draw the centre’s attention to the problems facing West Bengal because of refusal by the BJP government at the centre from releasing funds due to the state. Trinamool leader Udayan Guha had said Mr Pramanik would only see black flags wherever he goes in the region.
Local reports say there was also anger against Mr Pramanik over the killing of a tribal, allegedly in firing by the Border Security Force (BSF), which reports to the Home Ministry, of which he is a minister. Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee at a recent rally in Cooch Behar had also targeted Mr Pramanik for allegedly not doing enough to erase concerns of tribals after the killing.
The TMC attributed the Saturday’s incidents to “people’s anger” against the Centre’s “stepmotherly” attitude towards the state as well as alleged excesses by the Border Security Force. “The Centre is not sending funds for development projects. The BJP is busy dividing people along the religious lines. The BSF is torturing people in border areas. People are angry at the Centre over these issues and expressing their anger through protests,” said TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.
(Manas Dasgupta)