The families of Trilochan Mahato and Dulal Kumar, BJP workers found hanging in Purulia villages in May and June last year in the aftermath of the Bengal panchayat polls, have said the party has extended little help over the past year despite its promises.
According to the families, a key pledge — beyond the immediate assistance of Rs 5 lakh each given by BJP leaders — not kept is that of jobs for relatives.
The complaints come at a time the deaths of Trilochan and Dulal have become the main campaign theme for the BJP in the run-up to Sunday’s polls. Instead of usual slogans, BJP graffiti often feature a person hanging from a transmission tower or a tree.
Trilochan, 18, was found hanging from a tree and Dulal, 32, from a tower. The deaths followed the BJP’s impressive performance in the rural polls. “The martyrs are our one of the main issues,” a BJP leader said.
At Trilochan’s Supurdihi home last week, elder brother Vivekananda was working on a single-storey under-construction house in the scorching sun. “Trilochan had started this (house)… now it is incomplete.”
Trilochan, who worked as a labourer, was the main breadwinner of the family. “I used to work as a guard in Jharkhand and my younger brother Shibnath at a hotel in Goa. My father Hadiram used to work in a shop. But we are jobless after our brother was killed by Trinamul men,” Vivekananda said.
Dulal’s widow Monika with her kids and father-in-law. (Snehamoy Chakraborty)
Hadiram Mahato, 62, Trilochan’s father, said BJP leaders had promised jobs for his other sons but these had not materialised. “I am still banking on Modi’s word.” Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a rally in Purulia that the martyrdom of the two “veers (bravehearts) will not be wasted”.
Bengal police have started a murder case and arrested a few Trinamul workers over Trilochan’s death. The cops have termed Dulal’s death a suicide. The BJP has moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe in both cases.
In Dava village, 15km from Supurdihi, Dulal’s widow Monika spoke of her struggle. “BJP leaders gave us Rs 5 lakh. I get Rs 2,500 per month as interest on that. Is it possible to run the family with this amount?” asked Monika, who lives with her brother-in-law’s family and is raising three kids.
Trilochan’s family and that of Dulal had been invited to New Delhi to meet BJP leaders last year. Following that, party leaders had helped Dulal’s son Adarsha get admission in Purulia’s Ramakrishna Mission. “They had also assured me a government job but so far, that remains only an assurance,” said Monika. Dulal ran a business.
Asked about the complaints, Baneswar Mahato, a district secretary of the BJP in Purulia, said: “We are trying our best to provide them jobs. We are always with the families.”
Gopal Kataruka, a BJP leader in Purulia’s Balarampur, echoed Baneswar. “We are with them always. Trinamul tried to buy them with money and jobs but they still trust us. We will try our best,” Kataruka said.
