The members of civil society on Thursday came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee Government for perpetrating unprecedented violence and misery on the people of Bengal calling upon the masses to descend on the streets in order to bring the anarchic situation to an end. Among those who attended a moderately large crowd of Kolkata intelligentsia, many of whom had walked the movement alongside Banerjee during the Singur and Nandigram days, include Miratun Nahar, Samir Aich and Kaushik Sen. Others, who also joined the chorus and spoke vehemently against the Trinamool-led Government, were former lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and retired Supreme Court Judge Ashok Kumar Ganguli.
The call to “take your oppressors head on” came even as poll violence continued in various parts of Bengal two days ahead of the Saturday’s civic elections to 91 municipal boards.Chatterjee, who on several occasion praised the Chief Minister for her fighting spirit, on Thursday called the people to “start a struggle for second Independence because preserving your freedom is as difficult as achieving it.”
He said the present Government had literally reduced the bureaucracy from civil servants to servants of the ruling party showing how even the State Election Commissioner, who was holding a constitutional post, had allowed himself to be reduced into a faithful subordinate of the political executive. He said, “Time has come when the people have to salvage their democratic rights by descending on the streets against one of the most insensitive and oppressive Government ever.”
Painter Samir Aich said the Banerjee was running a Government of anti-social elements. Justice Ganguli who had also worked for a brief period as the State Human Rights panel chief launched blistering attack on the Chief Minister for giving Bengal even a worse Government. “I am ashamed of living in a State run by an outfit filled with lumpen elements and which has little intellectual prowess. Whenever I go outside the State, people ask me questions and I hang my head in shame,” Justice Ganguli said.
Meanwhile, violence continued in districts with most Opposition parties fighting pitched battle with the motorbike-borne Trinamool goons who overran the districts, sources complained. Reports of conflicts came from Purulia, Barasat, Basirhat, Rajpur-Sonarpur, Malda and elsewhere police said. At Basirhat actor-turned BJP leader Rupa Ganguli staged a dharna against what she said “shameless violence on the BJP workers.”
She said, “The Trinamool goons are attacking and threatening our men everywhere in order to create an atmosphere of fear so that our supporters do not go to vote. But we have put our feet down and will not move an inch come what may. We will fight till the end.” CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakrabarty said both the SEC and the Government were backing the goons but the people will descend on the streets to protect their political rights and the State Government will be held responsible for the consequences.”