New Delhi: The last day of election campaigning for the Bhabanipur assembly seat bypoll on Monday, witnessed a lot of political tussle with tensions escalating in the south Kolkata area.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that Trinamool Congress supporters physically harassed former state chief Dilip Ghosh while he was campaigning for Mamata Banerjee’s challenger Priyanka Tibrewal.
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The incident happened near Jadu Babur Bazar (Jadu Babu‘s Market) in Bhabanipur area where Ghosh‘s way was allegedly blocked by some Trinamool supporters and he was pushed to the side of the road, news agency IANS reported.
The supporters began saying “Joy Bangla” - a slogan coined by Mamata Banerjee to counter BJP‘s “Jai Shri Ram” - and shouted at him to go back.
The BJP national vice-president shared a video on Twitter where a scuffle between personal security guards of Ghosh and the locals can be seen. Some of the guards also pointed their guns towards the crowd to disperse them.
Ghosh was cordoned off and taken away from the place. One BJP supporter was reportedly wounded in the scuffle.
Speaking to the media, Dilip Ghosh said, “Look this is the situation of West Bengal. They will not allow anyone to campaign even. I was pushed and beaten because I came here to campaign in favour of our candidate. There is no democracy in the state. We shall give a formal complaint”.
In the series of angry tweets, the former West Bengal BJP president called the incident “a plot to kill by TMC goons and thugs” .
“This highlights the heinous, horrific nature of the ruling party. Can healthy elections be conducted after this incident?” he asked.
“At Bhabanipur, Mamata‘s brothers have beaten up the police itself. Where police, public representatives are being attacked then what is the situation of general public? This is nothing but a form of threatening people so that they don‘t come out to vote,” he wrote in another tweet.
Responding to the incident, Ghosh’s successor, the newly appointed BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “We touch the feet of an aged person. This is the culture of Bengal. Forget about anything. See the age of Dilip Ghosh. He is being kicked! Is it the culture of the state? I have not learnt these things. When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee or Abhishek Banerjee go to Delhi we can also block his way and give ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan. Have we done this? They are not only killing democracy, they are destroying the culture of the state. The people of Bengal will throw away this proud woman”.
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EC Seeks Report From West Bengal Govt
Taking cognisance of the clash, the Election Commission has sought a report from the state government over Bhabanipur ruckus. EC asked the government to submit the report by 4 pm, ANI reported.
BJP candidate from Bhabanipur, Priyanka Tibrewal, questioned CM Mamata Banerjee. "She cannot control the law and order of Bhabanipur but she dreams of ruling the country. First let her handle her own constituency," she said, as quoted by IANS.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has termed the incident as a people’s protest. A tweet on the party’s official Twitter account read: “BJP Bengal HITS A NEW LOW! How DARE a gun be aimed at public in broad daylight? Do people not have the right to protest against leaders they do not support? Such blatant violation of human rights is shameful! This compromises the safety and security of people in Bhabanipur!”.
West Bengal bypolls for Bhabanipur, Samserganj and Jangipur seats will take place on September 30.
The Bhabanipur bypoll is crucial for Mamata Banerjee, following her loss to former protege Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram, as she needs to win a seat in the state assembly by November 5 in order to continue as the Chief Minister. The Constitution allows a non-member (be it CM or a minister or even a Prime Minister) to continue in a ministerial position only for six months.