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BJP chief J P Nadda accuses opposition states of silencing dissent
The BJP has been at odds with the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, and several party MPs have complained of not being allowed to step out and join relief work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda in a series of tweets on Monday lashed out at opposition ruled states for “unfairly targeting” the party workers and said it was unbecoming of “those in power” to silence dissent.
“In the last few days, it has been observed that in opposition ruled states, the state machinery has been used unfairly to target BJP workers and independent voices on social media, critical of the local government’s handling of Covid. In a vibrant democracy, this is unacceptable,” he said in a tweet.
The BJP president went on to say that the culture of debate and criticism of those in public life is an integral part of our democratic process. “…but using state agencies at your disposal to silence dissent is unbecoming of those in power. Opposition should adhere to political arguments, when questioned on their failing,” he said in a second tweet.
Nadda took no names in his tweets.
The BJP has been at odds with the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, and several party MPs have complained of not being allowed to step out and join relief work during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Union home minister Amit Shah had also written to Banerjee last week, stating that her government was not allowing special trains and it was “injustice” to migrant workers stuck there.
The BJP and the Trinamool Congress have been at loggerheads over sharing of information about the casualty numbers in Bengal and the steps being taken to contain the spread of the virus. Words were also exchanged between the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh over running of Shramik Special trains for taking migrant workers to their native states. While the BJP at the Centre accused states of not giving permission to requisition trains, the states refuted the allegation and said their lists were pending with the railway ministry.
In April, Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar was booked under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005, for allegedly spreading false alarms while MP from Alipurduars, John Barla, complained of being put under ‘house arrest’ by the district administration.
While Nadda did not specify any incident or state, he assured his party workers and said, “I want to assure every BJP worker, supporter & well wisher, who is being targeted by those scared of their unprincipled politics getting exposed, that the BJP stands with you. We will defend your right to free speech and resist these tyrannical forces in the democratic framework.”
