The toll in violence in West Bengal since Monday night has increased to three. Two people died in an explosion in the Kankinara area of North 24 Parganas district on Monday night while one person was killed in East Burdwan district. Members of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have blamed each other for the deaths, PTI reported on Tuesday.
“Chief Minister herself is provoking violence in the state and employing party workers and police for it,” Union minister Babul Supriyo told ANI. “This governnment has no moral right to be in power.”
In the evening, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed 10 people, eight of whom were associated with her party, have been killed in violence in the state since the Lok Sabha elections. After unveiling Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s bust near Hare School, Banerjee alleged there was a plan to defame the state. “There is a conspiracy to forget the rich legacy of Bengal,” she claimed. “A plan is being hatched to turn Bengal into Gujarat. Bengal is not Gujarat.”
The Trinamool Congress claimed that victims in Kankinara violence were its supporters, and placed the blame on the BJP. However, the saffron party’s MP Arjun Singh refuted the allegation, saying the explosion was a result of a family feud, and had nothing to do with politics.
Violence also erupted in East Burdwan district’s Shantinadi area on Monday night. Jaideb Roy, the general secretary of a village committee, was assaulted by a group, PTI reported. Three others who rushed to the spot to rescue Roy were also beaten up.
The four were taken to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, where Roy died early on Tuesday. Four people have been arrested in connection with the case, said , Superintendent of Police Bhaskar Mukherjee.
State minister and Trinamool Congress chief in East Burdwan Swapan Debnath alleged that his party’s supporters were beaten up by the BJP. Roy’s body would be taken to his village after autopsy, he added. The BJP Yuva Morcha chief in the district, Shyamal Roy, denied his party’s involvement and alleged that it was the result of infighting within the ruling party.
Episodes of violence in West Bengal have been recorded since the Lok Sabha elections began, but it has spiked since the declaration of results on May 23. The saffron party increased its tally of Lok Sabha seats in the state to 18.
On Saturday, a Trinamool Congress worker and two leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party were killed in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. Following a scuffle between BJP workers and the state police, the Centre sent an advisory to the West Bengal government, expressing deep concern over the state of affairs.
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