Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state president Samik Bhattacharya on Tuesday distanced his party from the recent spate of egg attacks on political leaders, mentioning that his party does not endorse such acts.
Bhattacharya also flagged his concern about those workers who have “suddenly” started identifying themselves with the BJP after the party came into power in the state.
Addressing a meeting organised by the BJP Teachers’ Cell at the National Library in Kolkata, Bhattacharya said the party was finding it difficult to control those who have recently started projecting themselves as BJP workers.
“These people who have suddenly turned into BJP workers are one of our main concerns. Reining them in is proving to be a major headache for us,” he said while referring to them as “Char Ghontay BJP (A four-hour BJP convert).”
Seeking to distance the party from the recent incidents of egging, Bhattacharya said the BJP does not support acts of intimidation or protest through such attacks.
“The BJP as a political party does not stand by the practice of pelting eggs,” he said, adding that such incidents should end immediately.
His remarks came as the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal Police to submit an action-taken report on incidents in which eggs were allegedly thrown at political leaders and workers after the assembly election results were announced on June 4.
The direction was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
The petition alleged that BJP activists had hurled eggs at Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, including elected representatives, in the presence of police personnel who allegedly failed to intervene.
During the hearing, the bench observed that merely arresting a few individuals would not be sufficient and stressed that the state administration must take broader steps to prevent such incidents and ensure public safety. It also sought details of the measures taken by the police to curb such attacks.
Representing the state government, the counsel submitted that the administration had repeatedly appealed to people not to take law into their own hands, while maintaining that it was difficult to act in the absence of specific complaints.
The court, however, declined to pass any interim order in the matter and said it would deal with the issues through a detailed order at a later stage.