There was no let up in Trinamool Congress-sponsored pre-electoral violence as rural Bengal engaged in festival of bloodshed leaving at least two persons dead and hordes of others hospitalised.
While a BJP candidate was shot dead by Trinamool goons at Bankura late on Wednesday while he was on his way to file nomination for the panchayat elections one from the CPI(M) fell to bomb injuries at Nalhati in Birbhum district where the left and the Trinamool clashed in front of the BDO office for hours as bombs fell like rain- drops and bullets fired like in a war front.
In the skirmish former CPI(M) MP Dr. Ramchandra Dom received severe head injuries, even as he led a crowd of left workers to file nomination, sources said.
At Chopra in North Dinajpur where Trinamool goons had openly resorted to blank fires from a rally on Wednesday the BJP and TMC clashed after the latter reported stopped the saffron candidates from filing nomination. The police resorted to tear gas fire and lath-charge to disperse the mob.
At Itahar in the same district a thousand BJP workers allegedly attacked and ransacked a BDO office, police said leading State Minister Partho Chatterjee to blame the opposition parties for pre-electoral violence.
Elsewhere in a scathing attack on the Trinamool Government for failing to hold even a panchayat election a group of Bengal BJP leaders said Mamata Banerjee was “murdering democracy” in the State.
Union Minister Babul Supriyo told reporters in a press conference jointly held by Darjeeling MP SS Ahluwalia, Rajya Sabha Members Rupa Ganguli and Swapan Dasgupta that “crime against humanity continues West Bengal. Be it riots or pre-poll violence. Democracy is being murdered. A concerted effort is being made by Mamata di to gauge democracy.”
The leaders were likely to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
Meanwhile, both the BJP and the Congress on Thursday moved the Supreme Court and Calcutta High Court respectively with a prayer for adequate security measures for free and fair elections. The BJP’s plea had been admitted and was likely to be heard on Friday.
The BJP leaders said they would stage a sit-in in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament complex to protest against the crime against humanity. “They would not even spare a p-pregnant woman,” Rupa Ganguli said.
Anyone from the opposition parties who went to file nomination was being targeted by the Trinamool goons who were sitting armed to the teeth in front of the BDO, SDO or DM offices, the leaders alleged.
As she was facing a stiff challenge from the BJP this time round she had ordered her men to stop them from filing nomination at any cost, Ahluwalia said while his accusation was bluntly rejected by Bengal Minister Partho Chatterjee.
“If we are not allowing them to file nomination then how could they file so many nominations in the past two daysIJ The BJP has filed more nominations than the Trinamool for the Zilla Parishad. Even in the gram panchayat seats they are almost equal with us. Is someone else coming to file these nominations for themIJ” he inquired.
His Cabinet colleague Firhad Hakim said “the BJP and the CPI(M) have lost ground their feet in the State. So they are raising these issues. They know that they will be routed in the elections. So they are making excuses.” The team of Bengal Ministers on Thursday met the Governor who had summoned Chatterjee to take a review of the situations.