Refusing to pay attention to the warning issued by the BJP to the Trinamool Congress against attacking its workers in Bengal, the ruling outfit on Sunday launched fresh attacks on the saffron workers injuring at least five of them.
The incident took place at Fatehpur near Falta in South 24 Parganas, sources said. While the TMC leaders denied the charges, local BJP sources, who were still afraid of more attacks, said the ruling party goons punished them for defying their orders and going to vote on May 12. None had been arrested so far, the police said.
Incidentally, the attack that came within 24 hours of the high-powered Central BJP delegation visiting the boondocks of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas, where 22 BJP workers were attacked by Trinamool rowdies with guns and bombs earlier in the week, for publicly celebrating the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP delegation including Mukhtar Abbas Naqbi, SS Ahluwalia, Meenakshi lekhi, Siddharthnath Singh and Babul Supriyo had issued a stern warning to the State Government asking it to check the ongoing violence.
The Bengal ruling party on Sunday reacted rather sharply to the criticism it faced from the saffron leadership even as senior party leader and Education Minister Partho Chatterjee said, “The State Government will not bow to any threat issued by the Centre. Don’t show us the bogey of Delhi. That will not help because earlier also rulers up there did this and were routed finally.”
Giving threats of “New Delhi will not help in any way because the people are with us and they will give a befitting reply to all such threats,” Chatterjee said on Sunday adding, “We will not bow our heads before any amount of threats issued by the BJP.”
The saffron leaders had earlier said that they would raise the issue of attacks on party workers with Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
“The so-called Central team came by plane and went back like flying without knowing the real problems and issues of the people. They are only concerned with dividing Bengal which the local people will not tolerate,” Chatterjee said.