Birbhum Violence: BJP Delegation Stopped From Visiting Site, Demands Mamata Banerjee's Resignation

BJP demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation over the incident, alleging that attempts were being made to shield the culprits.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee (File photo: AFP)

New Delhi: A day after eight people were killed in a fire that broke out in some houses following the alleged murder of a Trinamool Congress panchayat office-bearer in West Bengal's Birbhum district, the BJP delegation led by Suvendu Adhikari was stopped from visiting the spot.

Now, BJP demanded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation over the incident, alleging that attempts were being made to shield the culprits.

"We were stopped from visiting the spot, but the chief minister had said she would be going there. She will be visiting the area to remove pieces of evidence and protect the culprits. We are against it. If we are not allowed, then no one else should also be permitted to visit it," he said.

"Only CBI and NIA probe can bring out the truth," he said.

Banerjee has asserted that strict action would be taken against the perpetrators of violence.

"The chief minister is also the home minister of the state. She has failed in discharging her duties as the home minister. She should immediately resign," Adhikari told reporters on his way to Birbhum.

Banerjee has stated that a severe move would be made against the culprits of savagery.

"The chief minister is also the home minister of the state. She has failed in discharging her duties as the home minister. She should immediately resign," Adhikari told reporters on his way to Birbhum.

BJP MP and the party's state VP Arjun Singh expressed that the CM should assume a sense of ownership with the incident and step down.

"Earlier, it was the opposition workers who were facing the heat. Now it is TMC versus TMC in the state. Leaders of the ruling party are fighting among themselves. The CM must immediately step down, and a probe into Birbhum killings must be handed over to the CBI. The police are trying to hush up the matter. Attempts are being made to shield the culprits," Singh added.

Sharing on Twitter a video of BJP leaders at a sweetmeat shop relishing local delicacies on the way to the place where the killings occurred, TMC representative Kunal Ghosh said that "the saffron camp made arrangements for the visit of its members to violence-hit Birbhum, but they are having a picnic on their way to the district".

(With PTI inputs)