Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday launched a no-holds-barred attack on Mamata Banerjee Government for going soft on the masterminds of Malda violence and assured maximum presence of central forces in the State in the upcoming Assembly elections to ensure free and fair polls.
“The State Government cannot deny responsibility on Malda violence and it will have to bring the culprits to book or else we will expose them” he told a public rally at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas.
Early this month a violent mob belonging to a particularly community had gone on rampage torching three dozen vehicles and burning down the Kaliachak Police Station apparently to destroy records related to human trafficking, illegal immigration, trans-border opium and fake currency
trade etc.
“The Government must identify the people who plotted such a huge procession. Who organised it, whether the police were in the know of what was to happen and could the incident have been averted if a senior official was present there have to be ascertained and responsibility fixed,” he maintained indicating the BJP was going to make Malda an electoral issue.
launching a scathing attack on the Trinamool Government for letting down the “Maa (mother), Maati (earth) and Maanush (people)” which had been the electoral catch-phrase of Trinamool Congress in the 2009 and 2011 elections Singh said “in Bengal neither Maa, nor Maati, nor Maanush” thanks to the deteriorating law and order situation.
“let alone people even the police is not safe in this State” Singh said adding “the people of this State crave for a Parivartan but it is not possible where booths are looted in a wholesale manner.”
Urging the people to “come out of your houses and cast your vote fearlessly as being the Home Minister of this country I promise you to make available as much central forces as required by the Election Commission.”
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister for organising industrial summits to draw investment Singh said “until you improve your law and order situation not a single farthing will be invested in this State.”
Reacting to his statement senior Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay called Singh’s statements unconstitutional saying “he should not have spoken as the Home Minister from a party rally.” Bandopadhyay said “giving commitment on central forces — that too from a political platform — he has acted unconstitutionally because requisitioning central forces is completely Election Commission’s jurisdiction.”
The Trinamool would raise the issue in Parliament “if need be” he said refuting Singh’s views on the industrial summit. “Rajnathji should first consider the statements made a few days ago by Mr Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and his other Cabinet colleagues before making such comments on State’s industrialization. What they said about industrialisation in Bengal and what he is saying are mutually contradictory. So they should first decide what they want to say before launching such baseless statements.”
Meanwhile, the left Front welcomed Singh’s comments on the deteriorating law and order situation but wondered “what stopped the Home Minister from spending a word on the Saradha chit fund case.” CPI(M) MP and party politburo member Md Salim said “the very fact that Saradha has not been raised only proves that the understanding has been reached between the two sides so that this election also turns out to be a big farce.”