A day after a senior Trinamool Congress leader directed his partymen to burn down the houses of independent candidates contesting the panchayat elections and bomb the police vehicles if they intervened, sporadic political clashes broke out in North 24 Parganas districts that saw more than hundred houses torched, police vehicles damaged and an election observer’s vehicle bombed.
The incident took place at Borgachia under Amdanga police station some 40 km north of Kolkata. The district along with South 24 Parganas and Howrah went to poll on Thursday where about one-fourth of the State’s panchayat population exercised their rights.
Curiously, Birbhum district Trinamool Congress president Anubrata Mondal had on Wednesday asked his partymen in a public rally to “set the houses of independent candidates afire if they threaten you” adding “if the administration and the police intervene then bomb the police vehicles. This is my instruction to you.”
The senior leader who currently enjoys Z-category security made such statements in the presence of two State Ministers — Malay Ghatak and Chandranath Sinha. Mondal’s directions were taken seriously by his men who on Thursday burnt down the houses of independent candidates in Birbhum district.
Modnal’s speech tended to inspire the cultural world and more rattling of the sabre followed on Thursday. MP and Bengali cinestar Tapas Paul directed his men in the public to “shoe up the CPI(M) supporters whenever you come across them as they are the dirtiest of creatures.”
Similar provocative remarks were earlier made by East Midnapore MP Subhendu Adhikary who had warned the voters saying his party would take account of those who did not vote for his candidates. Another Trinamool Minister Jyotipriya Mullick had told a rally to “do the same thing to the Marxists that you do to a snake when you find one.”
Cut to Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, four policemen including officer-in-charge S Ali of the Amdanga police station was grievously injured when clashes broke out between CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress supporters.
The attackers also bombed the vehicle of Election Commission observer UK Sengupta, however he was not hurt, the district SP said, adding he had made an unscheduled visit on the spot.
Opposition parties like the CPI(M), BJP and the Congress had lodged complaints with the State Election Commission drawing its attention to the alleged provocative speeches made by the Trinamool leaders.
Meanwhile, the Centre was sending an additional 70 companies of forces to man the polls and dominate areas, SEC officials said, adding the Central forces would be used more effectively in the third and fourth and fifth rounds.