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Birbhum: PM Modi assures central assistance; Mamata to visit victims on Thursday
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the Birbhum massacre and expressed hope that the West Bengal government will punish all those behind the ‘heinous’ crime.
KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condemned the massacre in West Bengal’s Birbhum district in which eight persons were killed after the murder of a Trinamool Congress panchayat leader and expressed hope that the West Bengal government will punish all those behind the “heinous” crime.
“I express my condolences over the violence in Birbhum. I hope the state government will take strict action against the culprits. Those who commit such crimes and those who encourage such criminals should not be forgiven. The Centre will extend all assistance to the state to bring the culprits to justice,” the Prime Minister said during a virtual meet inaugurating the Biplobi Bharat Gallery at Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, on the occasion of Shaheed Divas on Wednesday.
The PM also urged the people not to forgive the perpetrators of such incidents and those who encourage such criminals while assuring of the Centre’s assistance so that the criminals are punished at the earliest.
The Prime Minister’s assurance of providing central assistance comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in West Bengal raised the demand of a central probe.
“I have already written to the union home secretary urging that NIA (National Investigation Agency) should probe into the bomb blast that killed the panchayat leader. The chief minister is coming to Birbhum to tamper all evidence related to the massacre,” said Suvendu Adhikari, BJP leader and leader of the opposition in the state Legislative Assembly, who headed the BJP team to Birbhum.
On Wednesday the BJP, the main opposition party in the state and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPIM, sent two separate teams to Bogtui village where the massacre took place. A Trinamool Congress (TMC) team headed by state minister Firhad Hakim went to the village on Tuesday. The opposition has demanded the chief minister’s resignation.
On Thursday, another team set up by BJP president JP Nadda comprising five members, which includes four MPs, is expected to reach Birbhum.
On the other hand, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is scheduled to visit the village on Thursday, hinted at the opposition’s hand behind the massacre.
“We are running the government. Why would we want a murder, bloodshed and bomb blast? Such things are done by those who are not in power just to harass the government and malign us,” she said at a government program in Kolkata on Wednesday.
“I would be going there tomorrow (March 24). I planned to go there today (March 23). I was ready. But some political parties are going there and having sweets. I don’t want to go there when they (opposition parties) are there. I don’t want to quarrel with them unnecessarily,” she added.
“West Bengal has a population of 100 million. An incident took place in a remote village. We condemn it. Immediate actions have been taken. Much bigger incidents take place in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. We are not justifying. All we are just trying to say that a crime has taken place and action would be taken,” Banerjee said.
Meanwhile a war of words continued between the chief minister and the West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhakhar, with whom the ruling TMC shares an acrimonious relation.
On Tuesday, Dhankhar said that he was “pained and disturbed” to see “human rights in decimation and law and order capsized” in the state. Later Banerjee shot off a letter to him alleging that his statements were politically motivated.
The spat continued on Wednesday with Dhankhar shooting off another letter claiming that the state government’s actions in the matter smack of “political overtones” and an attempt to shield the guilty.
Mamata also hit back at Dhankhar from the government program saying that he was always trying to tarnish the state’s image.
“There is a Saheb sitting here. At the drop of a hat, he would say that West Bengal is the worst state. Every day, he is moving around from Darjeeling to Jalpaiguri and abusing the government. Some important persons have informed me that they are being instructed by the Governor to carry out raids at specific places. I know everything,” she said.
