Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerje does not appreciate burning down her political opponents. This she made clear on Monday while chiding one of her senior party strongmen for making scorching remarks against the saffron leaders.
As Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mandal who minds Trinamool Congress’ business in Birbhum district “graduated” from breaking Opposition leaders’ limbs and bombing their houses to burning them alive Banerjee broke her silence admonishing her alleged apple of eye against foul-mouthing the Opposition parties, “the way the BJP does.”
After reportedly sustaining Mandal — infamously famous for his recurrent fetid speeches — for the past six years the Chief Minister finally threw a leash on her barking boy saying, “this is the last time I am hearing it from you. Watch out for your words in future.”
Her immediate context for the passing rebuke was Mandal’s public speech daring the BJP leaders “howsoever big you are” to “repeat the Rajasthan act in my district.” He said, “if any BJP leader how so big he may be had hacked and burnt a poor minority man in my district then I would definitely have burnt him alive here.”
Mandal who was speaking in reaction to the Malda construction worker being hacked and burnt to death at Rajasamand in Rajasthan last week had in November threatened senior CPI(M) and Congress functionaries including the State Opposition leader with breaking their legs if they dared create trouble in his district.
In 2013 Panchayat elections he had publicly enticed his party men to attack and torch the houses of those who opposed him. “And if the police administration intervenes then bomb the police vehicles. I direct you to bomb the police vehicles,” he had thundered in a public meeting.
When reminded of his hate speeches Banerjee had on more than one occasion said that Mandal merited concession because he was unwell apart from being a good organiser. Some of his excesses deserved to be excused as “he is unwell with inadequate flow of oxygen in his head,” the Chief Minister then had said.
Incidentally Birbhum has been one of the most politically volatile districts witnessing intermittent political dogfights and deaths where the police have over the past a few years unearthed several thousand bombs mostly from the possession of Trinamool workers.
“We must remember that we are not BJP and we do not make uncivilised remarks against our Opposition like they do. We must not cross the limits of decency,” she said.
After making a passing remark against Mandal the Chief Minister immediately switched over to BJP attacking its State president Dilip Ghosh for criticising Bengal Government for failing to provide jobs to its citizens forcing them to go to other States.
“These leaders are fools who make such remarks. If workers from Bengal go to other States then people from those States also come to Bengal to make a living.