The Trinamul Congress on Monday demanded an unconditional apology from All India Matua Mahasangha chief and Union minister Shantanu Thakur for the alleged desecration of the premises of Harichand-Guruchand temple at Thakurbari and the attack on women inside the shrine by central force personnel.
The incidents happened when a faction that owed allegiance to Shantanu had put up resistance when Trinamul leader Abhishek Banerjee had arrived to offer puja at the temple.
The ruling party has also demanded that the top BJP leadership suspend Bongaon MP Shantanu for allegedly disrespecting women on the premises of the temple.
The demands were raised by Trinamul leader Mamatabala Thakur at a media conference in Calcutta on Monday in the wake of Sunday’s aggressive demonstration allegedly by members of the Matua association led by Shantanu and a subsequent clash with its rival faction that eventually denied Abhishek a visit to the main shrine at the Matua abode in Thakurnagar.
Shantanu and his brother BJP’s Gaighata MLA Subrata Thakur allegedly pushed out the rival factions from inside the temple, and vandalized the puja items, with the help of CISF personnel. The Trinamul has accused the personnel of the central force of "attacking and outraging the modesty of women" to take complete control of the premises.
The resistance compelled Abhishek to visit a smaller temple and the residence of Matua matriarch Baroma Binapani Devi's.
In the run-up to the panchayat election, the incident gained political importance in the Matua domains of the district.
Speaking to reporters, Mamatabala, who is also the chief of the rival faction of All India Matua Mahasangha, said: “Sunday will be known as a black day in the history of Thakurbari. The vandalism of the temple by Shantanu and his men and the attack on women inside the temple do not match the BJP’s claim of protecting and respecting women. People will give the party a befitting reply if it remained silent."
“I shall write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to suspend Subrata Thakur for Sunday’s incident,” she added.
Demanding an unconditional apology, the former Trinamul MP, who is the aunt-in-law of Shantanu and his brother Subrata, accused them of unleashing mental and physical torture on her.
“Since the death of my husband (former Trinamul MP Kapilkrishna Thakur), Shantanu Thakur has been torturing me with the help of RSS," she said.
Shantanu, however, denied the charges.
“Mamatabala Thakur has lost her ground and is now trying to mislead people. Everyone knows what damage she has done to the Thakurbari and people have given her a lesson by defeating her in the last Lok Sabha election. She has been trying to pollute the Thakurbari ever since she became a family member through her marriage, " Shantanu said.
Eight arrested
Police have arrested eight Matua devotees with close allegiance to Shantanu Thakur for allegedly attacking police personnel and damaging government properties when they were trying to prevent them from ransacking the Chandpara primary health centre near Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas during a clash with a rival faction on Sunday night.
All the eight accused are BJP activists, including one mandal committee president, sources said.
The accused persons were charged with obstructing public servants, attempting culpable homicide, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, and assaulting women, which Shantanu Thakur termed as "fabricated".
Trinamul leader and All India Matua Mahasangaha secretary Prasenjit Biswas, who is also a member of the faction’s legal team, said: “The accused under the instigation of Shantanu Thakur went on a rampage at the hospital when injured devotees were given medical treatment. They beat us up."
Refuting the allegation Shantanu said: “We sent some of our devotees for medical treatment at the hospital who were injured during an attack by Trinamul goons. But police attacked them before they could be treated."
