Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, said on Tuesday that the BJP would rise against the Mamata Banerjee government whenever Trinamool Congress resorted to highhandedness anywhere in Bengal.
He was at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district to attend a march and a meeting organised by the BJP to protest against a recent attack by suspected TMC supporters on a group of people with Left leanings.
“These days, TMC leaders are resorting to highhandedness as they are backed by the state police. On September 4, they attacked some protesters here. So, we are here to register our protests. Let us be clear that wherever the TMC perpetrates such violence against people, the BJP will be there,” said Adhikari.
Last week, the Paschimbanga Ganatantrik Lekhak Shilpi Sangha and the Bharatiya Gananatya Sangha — two cultural associations with Left leanings — organised a protest in Mathabhanga against the brutal rape and murder of the woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
When they drew graffiti on a road in Mathabhanga, a group of suspected TMC supporters reached there. They said the graffiti was “derogatory” and attacked the protesters. Some people were assaulted and wiped off the graffiti.
Police had to rush to the spot to control the situation.
On Tuesday, Adhikari alleged that the administration was acting at the behest of the TMC. “The TMC is pressurising our elected representatives to defect and the administration is silent. This will not be tolerated,” he said.
While the BJP organised the march and the meeting in Mathabhanga, the TMC conducted similar programmes in Mekhliganj, which is 50km away, alleging that a BJP worker was involved in the rape of a minor girl.
Last week, a complaint was filed against BJP worker Dipak Seal who was arrested.
The rally was led by Avijit De Bhowmik, the district TMC president. “We protested the crime committed by the BJP worker. He should be punished. What the BJP did today in Mathabhanga was a failed attempt to hide the BJP worker's crime," said De Bhowmik.
