Dhamakhali (West Bengal): Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday reached Sandeskhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district after being granted permission by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court to visit the restive area.
Suvendu Adhikari described the situation in the strife-torn area as "horrific" and a "clear example of anarchy". Adhikari spoke to the locals, including women, who narrated their "spine-chilling" experiences endured at the hands of local TMC leaders, including absconding Shahjahan Sheikh.
The BJP leaders were welcomed by locals, including women, after they reached Sandeshkhali by crossing the Kalindi River on a boat from Dhamakhali.
"The experiences narrated by the locals are spine-chilling. Their lands have been usurped, and women exploited... and everything happened with the help of the police and the administration. The situation is completely horrific and is a clear example of anarchy prevailing in the area," he said.
Adhikari, who was once a close confidante of the then opposition leader Mamata Banerjee during the days of the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram in 2007-08, was seen visiting houses and speaking to locals in Sandeshkhali. He switched over to the BJP ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal police had stopped Suvendu, who is the leader of the opposition in the Assembly from visiting Sandeshkhali, citing that the imposition of prohibitory orders and the state government moving the division bench against a single bench order on Monday allowing Adhikari to visit the trouble-torn area.
"The police have now allowed me and fellow BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh to visit Sandeshkhali, following the order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court," Adhikari said as he was escorted by the law enforcers to Dhamakhali ferry ghat, from where he crossed Kalindi River by boat to reach Sandeshkhali. At Sandeshkhali, he was seen being greeted by locals, including women.
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday morning allowed Adhikari to visit Sandeshkhali. The division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam refused to interfere into a single bench order that allowed Adhikari and another BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh to visit Sandeshkhali on Tuesday.
The Calcutta High Court, which on Monday granted permission to Adhikari to visit Sandeshkhali, had also directed the BJP leader not to give any provocative speech or create any law and order situation in the restive area. The West Bengal government had moved an appeal before the division bench challenging Monday's order.
Sandeshkhali had witnessed a series of protests after local women accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexually assaulting" them under coercion.
Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated with him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who had gone to search his premises in connection with a ration scam on January 5.
