Union minister Sukanta Majumdar demands Bengal CM's resignation over attack on BJP MP, MLA

Kolkata, Oct 8 (PTI) Senior BJP leader and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday claimed that the October 6 attack on his party colleagues, MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Sankar Ghosh, in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district was a "pre-planned murder attempt" and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly failing to maintain law and order.

Majumdar reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into the incident at Nagrakata when the duo was attacked by a mob during a visit to the flood-hit area.

Demanding the resignation of the chief minister for her alleged failure in preventing attacks on BJP workers and leaders, Majumdar said the attack was a "pre-planned murder attempt on the opposition to silence the voice of protest." "Going by the nature of the attack on our leaders and considering that not a single arrest has been made in the past two days, it is clear that it was a pre-planned murder attempt. We don’t have faith in the state police. There has to be a probe by a central agency like the CBI," Majumdar told reporters while touring flood- and landslide-hit areas of north Bengal.

He claimed that several other BJP workers accompanying Murmu and Ghosh were also injured.

"Many other party functionaries were thrashed at Nagrakata, but the severity of their injuries did not come to light as they were not admitted to hospital and are recuperating at home," he said, alleging the attack was aided by local TMC panchayat pradhans.

"While law and order is within the domain of the state, when there is no action on the part of state administration to prosecute the TMC-sheltered offenders, we have to seek a CBI probe by moving the high court," he added.

Earlier, the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had also demanded a probe by central agencies into the attack, claiming that the state investigators were shielding the real culprits due to their proximity to the ruling party.

Majumdar also alleged that the administration was selectively distributing relief materials among TMC activists and supporters in flood-hit Nagrakata and other parts of north Bengal while depriving opposition BJP sympathisers in the area.

"This state government has failed to provide relief to people. The CM came to the region, but did nothing to mitigate people's miseries," he said.

Claiming that the Centre allocated Rs 6,000 crore for north Bengal, he alleged that the TMC administration had failed to utilise the amount and kept on blaming the Centre.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh has accused the BJP of politicising the incident, saying it involved "aggrieved villagers protesting the withholding of 100 days work by the BJP-led government at the Centre." He added that the TMC had no role in the attack, which had already been condemned by the party, and noted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited Murmu in a Siliguri hospital. PTI SUS MNB