In an apparent bid to neutralise the Congress effect in 2014 should the two parties go to polls alone, the Trinamool Congress went about browbeating the Congress leadership threatening it with dire consequences “if your workers try to break the rules of politics.”
Trinamool leaders tended to pick up from where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left going steps ahead to threaten the Congress rank and file with physical assault so to say.
Anubrata Mandal, the president of Trinamool Congress’ Birbhum district on Thursday warned the Congress workers of chopping off their wrists if they dared to remove the posters of the Chief Minister sparking instant protest from the opposition who called the ruling party an outfit of hoodlums.
“We have no problem if you play the game of politics within rules. But if the Congress goons remove the posters of Mamata Banerjee then we will simply chop off their wrists,” Mandal a Trinamool strongman and a strong contender for a lok Sabha ticket who is credited with reducing the once mighty Marxists to a nought in his district said adding his party men were not afraid of “terror tactic being played by the Congress.”
Mandal who enjoys high-level security had during the panchayat elections hit the headlines for publicly asking his followers to torch the houses of rebel Trinamool candidates and bomb the police vehicles if the administration came to save them during the panchayat elections.
“He is talking like a terrorist” was the prompt reaction of BJP State president Rahul Sinha while PCC member OP Mishra blamed the Trinamool leadership for “propping the so-called leaders like Anubrata Mandal to win the elections.” CPI(M) State secretary Biman Bose said “instead of throwing people like him behind the bars the Trinamool is using them to win elections which amply prove the story of their so-called electoral success.”
He was trying to generate fear among the workers before the elections and the Election Commission should keep a vigil on him, the left leaders said.
Notwithstanding senior Trinamool leader Mukul Roy said Mandal’s statement should be seen allegorically.
“His statement is more symbolic than real. This can be proved from the record of the the Trinamool Congress which has not indulged in a single case of violence after the political change took place in Bengal. There will be no violence in the future also,” he maintained.