In a blood-curdling reminder of cow belt politics a band of Trinamool Congress workers on Monday danced their way to a party rally in Murshidabad with naked guns triggering spontaneous war of words among the rival politicians.
Hundreds of Trinamool workers — about a dozen of them openly flaunting 9 mm pistols — danced their way to a Trinamool rally at Kandi sub-division — addressed by party MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s one time Nandigram spearhead Subhendu Adhikary.
Hours later, Adhikary rejected the allegation saying it was the handiwork of local Congress leaders while the police did their bit by assuring promise “after we see the footages.” Senior State Minister Partho Chatterjee said, “If the report is true then action will be taken. But for that the report has to be genuine and not politically motivated.”
Of late Bengal had climbed several notches to rank among the top 2-3 States in terms of gun-running, attack on women and police, political and other crimes, kidnapping etc, National Crime Record Bureau reports. Curiously as well in the recent weeks the police have seized thousands of bombs and unearthed a number of gun manufacturing units allegedly run by the ruling party goons in Malda, Murshidabad, Burdwan and Birbhum districts.
Social activist and Bengali writer Bolan Ganguli who was one of those in the fore front of the Chief Minister’s Singur-Nandigram struggle conceded, “We have never seen such open and shameless display of gun power even during the Emergency years.”
Adhir Chowdhury, Behrampore MP in whose domain Kandi falls, said “The message is loud and clear before the next year’s elections. They are trying to spread terror. But we refuse to be terrorised.” Junior Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo said, “This is a naked display of brute strength to push people indoors. But reducing the police into a slave this Government is only playing with fire. People are watching.”
CPI (M) MP Md Salim said, “This is one big example to show how the Trinamool Congress has all kinds of lumpens, cheats, goondas, dacoits and murders in their ranks. People will never forgive them and will wait for the polls.” The Monday’s incident took place barely a couple of days after Trinamool MP Idrish Ali threatened senior CPI (M) leader Gautam Deb with “tearing out your tongue and chopping off your hands if you speak a work against Mamata Banerjee.”
Elsewhere at Garia in South Kolkata two persons were injured when Trinamool supporters fought a gun battle on Sunday night for control of local building syndicates.