Political violence in poll-bound West Bengal has reached its peak. As the state gears up for the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, another incidence of violence has been reported from the Jalpaiguri district in the state. While a BJP party office was reportedly vandalised in the poll-related violence, BJP workers also accused the ‘goons’ of TMC of beating its office bearers.
Reportedly, not just have BJP workers been injured, but cars, vehicles and the office space itself has been vandalised.
According to a report by News18, BJP leader Subhash Rai alleged that his party workers were assaulted for raising ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans during the Holi celebrations. Speaking about the incident, the BJP leader said that the fact that the BJP workers chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ while playing Holi irked the TMC goons, who then attacked the BJP karyakartas and also vandalised the party office in the district. A vehicle belonging to a BJP worker was also damaged in the ensuing violence.
https://twitter.com/News18India/status/1376788428293988352?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwFollowing the incident, BJP workers protested in front of the Jalpaiguri police station, demanding strict action against the TMC miscreants. Eventually, the police registered an FIR against the TMC goons and launched a probe in the case.
West Bengal is not new to violence over the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogan. The chant of Jai Shree Ram has become one of political upheaval in West Bengal with TMC goons lashing out at whosoever chanting it.
In 2019, a BJP worker was seriously injured after being shot by TMC goons for chanting Jai Shri Ram. Last year, in an undated video shared on social media, a Trinamool Congress leader (as claimed by BJP Bengal) was heard threatening people not to chant the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in they wanted to live in West Bengal. The TMC leader who is apparently addressing people in some sort of gathering said that chanting Jai Shri Ram would not be allowed in the TMC-ruled state. He asked people to move to Gujarat if they wanted to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
But what can be said about the party workers, if Mamata Banerjee herself gets so triggered every time she hears the slogan. On January 23, she was seen walking out of the stage refusing to address the public gathered at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial for Netaji birth anniversary celebrations. WB CM Mamata Banerjee who was sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented of “being disrespected” because she could not stand the slogans of Jai Shree Ram, Bharat Mata ki Jai, etc, when she was invited to address the event.
Earlier she has gone to the extent of slapping and getting people arrested for chanting the slogan.