Ahead of the Assembly Elections in the state next year, political violence in West Bengal seems to be on a rising graph. In its latest episode on Monday, TMC alleged that the saffron brigade killed one of its party workers in Nadia.
On a day that was marked by violent clashes between BJP workers and the police during the party’s Uttarkanya march in north Bengal’s Siliguri, the hindutva camp was accused of sponsoring murder of a TMC worker in south Bengal.
Bappa Sarkar, the deceased TMC worker, was a tea-shop owner in Nadia’s Sukantanagar. Following a heated confrontation near his shop, he was shot from point-blank range, reported Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin.
Sarkar’s family and local TMC leadership have claimed that he was an active worker in the governing party of West Bengal.
According to TMC’s party secretary in Gayeshpur, Sukanta Chattapadhyay, Sarkar was shot after a verbal spat with BJP workers during a leaflet distribution programme of them. Chattapadhyay directly pointed the finger towards BJP.
BJP, on the other hand, has refuted the allegations. Party’s South Nadia district secretary (organisation), Ashok Chakraborty, blamed TMC’s internal conflict as the main cause of the murder.
Chakraborty said that the shot was fired by an “anti-social element” backed by TMC and alleged that the target was a BJP worker. According to him, Sarkar was killed mistakenly.
Meanwhile, political violence throughout West Bengal ahead of the Assembly Elections next year has been a major concern.
Opposition parties like the BJP, CPIM and Congress have, time and again, blamed the TMC government for failing to maintain the law and order situation in the election-bound state.
It has also been revealed by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data that in terms of political violence and killings, West Bengal stands top among all the Indian states.