Attacks on people during Murshidabad riots will be avenged: Bengal LoP

Kolkata: Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday asserted that attacks on people during Murshidabad riots will be avenged and the party will "teach a lesson" to those who conspired to kill people.

Accusing the Trinamool Congress government of "silently watching" as large-scale arson and armed attacks on Hindus were taking place in Dhulian, Samserganj and other areas of the district in April, he said, "Had the Border Security Force (BSF) not stepped in to save the lives and properties of people, most of them Hindus, the district could have witnessed a worse situation." "The state did not call the BSF while its police force fled the scene or saw the burning and looting from a distance. It was the Union Home Ministry which made the deployment of BSF possible as we moved the Calcutta High Court," the leader of the opposition in the state assembly said.

Adhikari was addressing the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp Rally' at Netaji Indoor Stadium in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"Amit Shah ji brought peace in the riot-hit areas of Murshidabad by deploying BSF in a prompt manner and saved lives," he said.

"We will avenge the attacks on people, mostly Hindus, in those areas at an appropriate time. Every act of atrocity, armed attack, every incident of murder will be accounted for," he said.

He said Shah was instrumental in granting citizenship under CAA to those Hindus who were forced to flee neighbouring countries and cited the example of the widow of Pahalgam terror attack victim Bitan Adhilkari in Kolkata.

"Once her case was brought to the notice of Amit ji, it was addressed as early as possible. Don't be despondent over the non-cooperation of the state administration. We are there to address your concerns if the case is genuine," he said.

Echoing Adhikari, BJP's state unit president Sukanta Majumdar said, "If TMC activists carry out atrocities on our workers, they will face the same treatment when we come to power." "Didi (Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) has become scared of my call for Operation Bengal which will be unleashed by our party activists and not by the army," he added.

Referring to the SSC scam, he said, "During our reign, we will conduct SSC recruitment tests every year and every candidate will be given a copy of the OMR sheet." Assembly elections are due in West Bengal early next year.