In an apparent move to mount pressure on the BJP the Trinamool Congress will raise the issue of Tinsukia mass murder in Parliament, senior leaders of the Bengal ruling party said.
“We hit the streets protesting the mass killing of Bengali speaking people at Tinsukia, our MPs and MLAs visited the victims’ kin in Assam, now we are going to raise the issue in the Winter Session of Parliament as atrocities on linguistic minorities can’t be allowed to take place in that State,” a TMC MP said adding how the “BJP is fanning the linguistic communalism in an otherwise peace-loving State of Assam.”
Another party MP from South Bengal said the “BJP’s attempt to divide people communally and linguistically will be challenged by the Trinamool Congress and our leader Mamata Banerjee at every level. We have already taken up the issue seriously. Now we will raise the issue in Parliament so as to bring it to the notice of the entire country how the BJP is running a brutal raj in Assam.”
Incidentally Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had been repeatedly attacking the saffron outfit for its “nasty divide and rule policy.”She said “the BJP is driving out the Bengalis, UP wallahs from Assam and Biharis from Gujarat which will not be tolerated and fought against at every level.”
The TMC is also likely to raise the NRC issue in Parliament highlighting how the Bengalis were being singled out for expulsion from Assam, sources said.
The Bengal ruling outfit has already been taking out long marches against the “discriminatory drafting” of National Register of Citizens in Assam.
“We have taken out rallies in Kolkata and districts where the BJP has particularly strengthened its bases so that people will understand the anti-Bengali and communal views of that party,” the MP said.
When asked about the BJP’s counter move demanding an Assam-like NRC in Bengal — in an apparent bid to unite the non-Muslim voters in districts bordering Bangladesh — the TMC leader said “the BJP is trying to mislead the people before the coming elections but we will not let that happen. This time round the BJP will not get a single seat from Bengal.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated development the Bengal Congress leaders said chances of a Congress-Trinamool Congress tie-up in the State was not bright as “neither Mamata Banerjee nor the State Congress workers want the parties to go together to the polls.”
Senior State Congress leader and AICC member OP Mishra said “the Chief Minister has already said that she will go it alone in the polls and win all the seats. On the other hand the Congress workers too are not interested to go with the TMC as that will ruin the parties organization further.”
On whether his party will strike an alliance with the Left Front like it did in 2016 Assembly elections he said that “it will all depend on how things pan up before the polls” adding “adjustments between the two parties is not ruled out.”