The BJP on Monday launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she is known for “genocide of Hindus” and is now allowing her party’s workers to sexually attack women.
“Mamata Banerjee is known for the genocide of Hindus. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office… Who is this man who has been charged by the women of Sandeshkhali of the mass rape of Bengali Hindu women?… Till now everybody has been wondering who is Sheikh Shahjahan. Now, the question Mamata Banerjee has to answer is – where is Sheikh Shahjahan?”, said Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Irani alleged that Banerjee is known for “genocide of Hindus”. “That she will now allow her men to pick out Hindu young married women to rape them night after night in the TMC office cannot be articulated in mere words,” she said, citing the details of the allegations.
“The question is can we as citizens be mute spectators,” the Union minister said, accusing the TMC supremo of trading the dignity of vulnerable communities like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for “political benefits”.
Noting that the chief minister holds the charge of the home department, Irani, in an apparent swipe at the Congress, said those who are leading a yatra for justice in the country are also keeping mum.
It is a state-sponsored assault on Hindus, she alleged.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation led by senior leader Partha Bhowmick is scheduled to visit Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas on Tuesday afternoon to take stock of the situation in the area where anger has been brewing against the local TMC leadership over alleged atrocities against women.
For the last few days, the TMC has been facing the ire of the locals in Sandeshkhali following demands of the arrest of party leader Shajahan Sheikh and his aides for alleged harassment of women in the area.
“The delegation will be led by party leader and state irrigation and waterways minister Partha Bhowmick. TMC MLA Narayan Goswami and other leaders would accompany him. They will return and submit a report to the state leadership,” a senior TMC leader said.
Though the TMC leadership suspended a few of its local leaders in the area, it has failed to douse the anger of the locals.
A large number of women in Sandeshkhali held protests over the last few days, alleging that Shajahan and his “gang” captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing them.
They demanded the arrest of Shajahan who has been absconding since last month after a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that went to raid his house in an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob.
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Published: 12 Feb 2024, 05:37 PM IST