On Saturday, a five-member fact-finding delegation from the BJP, including BJP Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal and former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, met with party workers who were injured during the September 13 protest march to the state secretariat (‘Nabanna Abhiyan’). The delegation criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government, accusing it of fostering a “jungle raj” in West Bengal.
Expressing dismay at the firsthand accounts of alleged police brutality against peaceful protesters en route to ‘Nabanna’ to voice grievances, Lal stated, “It seems that a jungle raj is prevailing in West Bengal, and the police are acting in a partisan manner. An autocratic rule has been established here.” The delegation visited injured party workers at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.
Rathore mentioned that the team would promptly submit its report on the police action to the party’s national president, J P Nadda. Lal emphasized that the BJP aimed to teach the Trinamool Congress (TMC) a lesson in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Responding to recent comments by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee regarding the use of force against BJP workers, Lal criticized such remarks, stating, “Such comments will only encourage police and ruling party men to crush any democratic movement with more brutality. This is not the hallmark of a civilized society. This is a reflection of an autocratic mindset of the government.”
In response, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh dismissed the BJP fact-finding team as “political tourists.” Ghosh accused the BJP of supporting hooliganism under the guise of protests and attempting to create instability in West Bengal. He asserted that the BJP team’s visit was merely a political maneuver, and he defended the police’s response to the alleged vandalism by BJP workers during the protests.
