TMC cracks whip on dissidents, expels Suvendu loyalist
Kailash Vijayvargiya, the BJP national general secretary, on Sunday (December 13), said that Chie Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to return to power “on the strength of violence” and urged the Election Commission (EC) to deploy central forces to put an end to the violence in West Bengal.
The TMC on Sunday (December 13) expelled a leader of its East Midnapore district unit, Kanishka Panda, considered close to party heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari.
Panda, the general secretary of the district unit, was expelled from the party for alleged anti-party activities, a party leader said.
“Panda made statements against Abhishek Banerjee, the president of the TMC youth wing, and even questioned the way the party was run by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee,” the leader said.
In another development, days after airing his grievance against a section of party leadership, state minister Rajib Banerjee on Sunday met the TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee and discussed future strategies of the TMC.
TMC’s poll strategist Prashant Kishore was reported to be present at the meeting. “The party secretary general had called me for a meeting, where we discussed future strategies. There may be more such meetings in the coming days and more discussions will be held,” Banerjee told reporters after an hour-long meeting at Chatterjee’s residence.
Vijayvargiya urges EC to deploy central forces in Bengal
Kailash Vijayvargiya, the BJP national general secretary, on Sunday (December 13), said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to return to power “on the strength of violence” and urged the Election Commission (EC) to deploy central forces to put an end to the violence in West Bengal.
“Mamata Banerjee knows that the land under her feet has slipped and so she is trying to return to power in the state on the strength of violence,” Vijayvargiya told reporters at Santiniketan in Birbhum district.
“I urge the Election Commission to deploy central forces from now itself in order to put an end to the prevailing atmosphere of political violence and terror in the state,” he added.
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The ruling TMC and the BJP have been engaged in a war of words over the attack on BJP national president JP Nadda’s convoy by alleged TMC supporters when he was travelling to Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district from Kolkata on Thursday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday sought central deputation for three IPS officers over the mob attack on Nadda’s convoy.
The three officers – Bholanath Pandey (SP, Diamond Harbour), Praveen Tripathi (DIG, Presidency Range) and Rajeev Mishra (ADG, South Bengal) – were responsible for the security of the BJP chief during his December 9-10 visit to the state.
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The West Bengal government will have the “last word” on releasing three of its IPS officers for central deputation, the state’s ruling TMC declared on Saturday, dubbing as “intimidatory” the Union Home Ministry’s order for shifting them out following the mob attack on Nadda’s convoy.
A communication was sent to the Union Home Ministry conveying the “unwillingness to release” the officers, a top state government official said on Saturday.
(With inputs from PTI)
