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Birbhum violence: 'It pains me...', Mamata hits back at Guv Dhankhar for 'arson orgy' remark
In an alleged manifestation of intra-party feud in the ruling Trinamool Congress, eight persons, including two children, were charred to death in Birbhum district earlier in the day, soon after the "murder" of a local leader of the party.
The political slugfest over the Birbhum violence intensified on Tuesday with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee asking governor Jagdeep Dhankhar to refrain from making "unwarranted statements" after the latter described the violence as "arson orgy".
In a letter, Banerjee, who also holds the state's home affairs portfolio, urged Dhankhar to "allow the administration to conduct an impartial probe".
“It pains me that you (Dhankar) have chosen an unfortunate incident which occurred in Rampurhat on March 21 that resulted in the loss of precious lives, to pass sweeping and uncalled for comments on the law and order situation in the state,” Banerjee wrote.
In an alleged manifestation of intra-party feud in the ruling Trinamool Congress, eight persons, including two children, were charred to death in Birbhum district earlier in the day, soon after the "murder" of a local leader of the party.
The incident triggered a political storm with the opposition BJP seeking imposition of President's Rule in the state, while the TMC termed the demand as conspiracy to malign it. Opposition parties claimed that the TMC is behind the incident, a charge denied by the ruling party.
The TMC chief added that her administration had taken immediate steps to not just take action against local police officers posted in the sub-division, but also to probe the cause of the incident.
“I have also asked the director general of police to immediately proceed and ensure that the perpetrators of the heinous crime are arrested and action is taken against them,” the chief minister told Dhankhar.
Eleven arrests have been made in the case so far.
Reiterating her point that it is improper to pass sweeping comments, Banerjee added, “However, you have commented in your tweet that the horrifying violence and arson, indicates that the state is under a grip of violence and lawlessness. This is highly unfortunate and unbecoming of a person holding such a dignified constitutional post.”
Banerjee also hit out at the governor by saying that his comments were not forthcoming when much more heinous incidents happened in states ruled by the BJP and other parts of India.
“Surprisingly, in all these cases, you have chosen to remain silent,” she said in her letter.
Pointing out that West Bengal is always peaceful except for sporadic incidents; Banerjee added that the governor left no stone unturned to malign the TMC government.
