Kolkata (West Bengal): Launching a scathing attack on Union Minister Smriti Irani for her remarks "genocide of Hindus" in Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership on Monday accused the BJP of attempting to divide the state on communal lines.
The BJP on Monday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she is known for "genocide of Hindus" and is now allowing her party workers to sexually attack women. The strongly worded attack from Irani at a press conference in New Delhi came following allegations by a group of women in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district that TMC local strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and sexually assaulted them.
The TMC accused the BJP of pursuing a consistent agenda of dividing Bengal along the lines of religion and stoking communal tension. "We know that the BJP toolkit requires politicisation of every incident in Opposition-ruled states but Irani should take off her political glasses. From Manipur to Uttar Pradesh to Delhi where protesting wrestlers were dragged on the streets, the Union Minister did not address these issues," TMC leader and Minister Birbaha Hansda said.
Addressing a press conference, Hansda said, "Bengal's women will reject the attempt to divide them." Senior TMC leader and Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya wondered why Irani was silent over the instances of violence against women in BJP-ruled double-engine states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
"Just yesterday, the body of a minor was recovered from a field in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. In November last year, four men hacked a 19-year-old rape survivor to death in Kaushambi district over her refusal to withdraw the case against the accused. Why hasn't Irani spoken on it. She should first speak on it," she said.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Monday morning reached Kolkata from Kerala, and straightaway went to Sandeshkhali. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and several other MLAs of the party were stopped from visiting the trouble-torn area, with police citing the imposition of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
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