Mamata Banerjee on Saturday cited the alleged attack on a National Investigation Agency team in Bhupatinagar to repeat her claim that the “outsider” BJP was bent on taking control of Bengal by using central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and the NIA.
The chief minister portrayed the NIA team’s surprise raid, apparently without informing the local administration, as a sort of provocation and alleged that its “torture” of village women had triggered spontaneous resistance.
“Does the NIA have the right to enter a village at night without informing the local police and administration? They have done it only to support the BJP,” Mamata told reporters in Raiganj before taking a helicopter to South Dinajpur to address a rally.
“The BJP is resorting to dirty tricks and is planning to arrest our booth agents. The party feels that it can win the election by arresting our agents and election managers with the help of the agencies.... This will not happen.”
Mamata added: “I have learnt that it is the NIA and not the women who organised the attack. Without informing the local police, you will use the BJP’s police and will torture women in villages in the name of NIA.... What do you expect? The women will sit silently and not protest and resist? Thus, whatever was supposed to happen has happened.”
Over the past few months, Bengal has witnessed violence against central agency teams. Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials faced attacks in Sandeshkhali and Bongaon while attempting raids or arrests.
Mamata’s comments after the Bhupatinagar incident led the Opposition parties, especially the BJP, to accuse her of instigating such attacks.
Nisith Pramanik, Cooch Behar MP and deputy to Union home minister Amit Shah, demanded the chief minister’s resignation while Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, accused her of planning the attacks.
Mamata argued that sudden raids by central agencies were generating popular resistance.
“Even if a cracker bursts, the NIA is asked to probe. The agency is being used against minorities and even other communities. Those working in the agency are making selective arrests,” she said.
“It’s obvious that people will react. The officers who are resorting to such acts should remember that the BJP will not be in power all the time.”
Mamata reiterated that the central agencies were acting at the behest of the BJP.
“The NIA and the CBI are the brothers of the BJP while the ED and income-tax (department) are funding boxes for the BJP,” she said at a public meeting in Tapan, South Dinajpur.
“If the BJP is so confident of winning over 400 (Lok Sabha) seats, why did they arrest Arvind (Kejriwal) and Hemant Soren?” she added, referring to the current and former chief ministers of Delhi and Jharkhand.
Mamata’s belligerence over the Bhupatinagar incident contrasted sharply with the apologetic stance adopted in private by several Trinamul insiders.
Mamata also vented ire at the Election Commission of India (ECI). “We thought the Election Commission would act in an impartial manner, but what the BJP has been saying is being done,” she said.
At public meetings in North and South Dinajpur, Mamata asked Trinamul leaders to prepare batches of polling agents for deployment in the booths on election day.
“The BJP thinks that by arresting our agents they can win the elections. We want multiple tiers of agents to be ready. If required, women from the families of those arrested will be stationed at the booths as agents,” Mamata said.
