Union minister Giriraj Singh on Friday lashed out at the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in the state. He alleged that democracy was conspicuously absent in Bengal, and Banerjee appears to be heading a government akin to that of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
"There is nothing like democracy in West Bengal. There seems to be a Kim Jong-Un government there. Adhir Ranjan has said that it would not be new even if there was a murder. This is Mamata Banerjee's democracy," he said to the reporters.
A team of the probe agency was attacked and its vehicles damaged in Sandeshkhali village of North 24 Parganas district when it arrived to raid the house of block level functionary of the TMC, Shahjahan Sheikh and Shankar Adhya, and their relatives in connection with alleged ration scam.
{{/usCountry}}A team of the probe agency was attacked and its vehicles damaged in Sandeshkhali village of North 24 Parganas district when it arrived to raid the house of block level functionary of the TMC, Shahjahan Sheikh and Shankar Adhya, and their relatives in connection with alleged ration scam.
{{/usCountry}}Sajahan is considered to be a close aide of state minister Jyotipriyo Mallick who was arrested in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution scam.
A huge number of TMC members and supporters gheraoed the ED officials upon their arrival and were roughed up. The officers were forced to leave their damaged vehicles behind and take autorickshaws and two-wheelers to safety.
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose also condemned the attack on the officers calling it as “alarming, deplorable and a ghastly incident”.
"It is a ghastly incident. It is alarming and deplorable. It is the duty of a civilised government to stop barbarism and vandalism in a democracy. If a govt fails in its basic duty, then the Constitution of India will take its course. I reserve all my constitutional options for appropriate action. This pre-election violence should find an early end, and this is the beginning of that end." he said.
"Bengal is not a banana republic. The government should stop barbarism and vandalism in a democracy," he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress, the partner ally in the INDIA bloc with TMC, also came down heavily on the latter by demanding the President's rule in the Banerjee-ruled state.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, in-charge of West Bengal, said there is now law and order in the state. He said it won't surprise him if officials are murdered in the TMC-ruled state.
TMC, however, reacted to the Congress' dig and said that the Congress leader is the agent of BJP. "Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is an agent of BJP," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
BJP's state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar wrote to union home minister Amit Shah demanding an NIA probe into the incident.
(With inputs from agencies)