TMC: BJP trying to disturb peace, stability in Bengal

Kolkata: The ruling Trinamul Congress on Friday accused the state BJP of trying to disturb the peace and stability of West Bengal by making provocative statements against its cadre.

TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said the BJP for the last few years have been trying to disturb peace and stability in the state.

“They have been doing such things just to gain political foothold in Bengal. But the people of Bengal will never accept a party which propagates communal division,” he said.  Mr Chatterjee said, “First they(BJP) tried their hand in creating communal tensions and now they are making provocative statements. But they won’t succeed in their intensions.”

Mr Chatterjee’s comment comes in the backdrop of West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh recent utterance that his party would not take it lying down if its workers were attacked by the TMC. Threatening “direct encounters,”, he had said “We are counting the bullets which killed our workers.”

“We have seen many goondas. There is a limit to tolerance (to such attacks). We have not given any bond that we will offer them (TMC) rasogolla (sweet) even if they attack us. There will be retaliation”, Mr Ghosh had said at a public meeting in north Bengal on June 19.

Hitting back, Mr Chatterjee said the BJP is “miles away” from the seat of power in West Bengal and is threatening to launch encounters.

“From such statements the people of Bengal can understand the kind of intolerant outfit BJP is,” he added. Chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called BJP a “militant organisation,” and alleged that it is engaged in dividing the people along religious lines while daring it to attack her party. “We are not a militant organisation like the BJP. They are arrogant and intolerant. They are religiously biased. They don’t like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs - they are even differentiating between the upper caste.”