In a show of solidarity for a combined struggle against the large scale electoral violence during the civic polls perpetrated by the ruling Trinamool Congress, the BJP also called a 12-hour bandh in Bengal on April 30.
The left Front that had already called a general strike on the same issue welcomed the saffron party’s move saying this would “provide strength to the struggle against one-man dictatorship going on in the State.”
While Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury remained non-committal on the issue, senior PCC leader and main petitioner in the Saradha chit fund issue Abdul Mannan said the Congress workers would back the bandh call and make the agitation a grand success.
Earlier, a small group led by the State BJP leadership staged a demonstration at the State Election Commission office protesting against its alleged complicity in the electoral malpractices and demanding the resignation of SEC SR Upadhyaya.
“A political party has already called a bandh on April 30. We could have called a bandh on a different day. But we did not want to disturb normal life. At the same time there was an express need to build up a movement against the ongoing goonda raj perpetrated by the Trinamool Congress. Hence, we have called this bandh” State BJP president Rahul Sinha said “inviting the Congress also to extend its support to us.”
The six left trade unions, including the INTUC and the HMS, had earlier called an industrial strike on April 30. The State had witnessed a large scale electoral violence that could even put the cow-belt of the yesteryear to shame. While booths were captured with impunity, hundreds of Opposition workers were injured on April 18 and 25 when Kolkata and rest of 91 municipalities went to polls respectively.
Reacting to BJP’s bandh call, CPI(M) central committee member and city president Shyamal Chakrbarty said, “We welcome the BJP’s decision as this is not only the fight of any single party but the entire people of Bengal. We will request even the like minded Trinamool men who do not support violence to back our call.”
The united bandh call by parties of divergent hues on the same issue was unprecedented in Bengal, where a divided Opposition has historically been ruling party’s main weapon to stay put in power.
The State Government, however, showed a belligerent mood even as Ministers Subroto Mukherjee and Partho Chatterjee said the Trinamool men and the administration would “counter the evil designs of the Opposition to halt Bengal’s progress.”
Mukherjee said, “The Trinamool workers would descend on the streets to ensure that Bengal remains open,” Chatterjee said “action would be taken if any one forcibly tries to stop work.”
Meanwhile, there were stray violence even during the re-polling conducted on Monday in 36 booths spread across six districts of the State. Results are to be declared on Tuesday. Elsewhere post-poll violence continued in various parts of the State and North 24 Parganas remained worst affected.
Two CPI(M) leaders’ houses were attacked at Kamarhati while a BJP leaders house was ransacked in the same municipal area, forcing them to flee their homes, sources said. At Malda bombs were thrown at a BJP workers house while at Kandi in Murshidabad Congress men were beaten up by the Trinamool men.