Bharatiya Janata Party's national general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya has demanded immediate resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. His comment came in the wake of fresh violence in North 24-Parganas district, which has been witnessing communal clashes following an “objectionable” Facebook post by a young man a few days ago.
Said Vijayvargiya to THE WEEK, “Mamata has failed on all fronts. The police in the state is working hand in glove with the workers of the Trinamool Congress. Policemen who oppose (Mamata's policies) are getting beaten up. The state government has a hidden agenda. Hindus in the state are being scared away. Mamata and her team will go to any extent in pleasing Muslims.”
The violence in the state has led to a war of words between the chief minister and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi.
“He (governor) threatened me over phone. The way he spoke, I felt insulted,” Mamata said.
The governor, however, rejected her allegations. A statement from Raj Bhavan said, “Nothing in the talk should have made her feel insulted, threatened or humiliated.”
BJP’s West Bengal unit has demanded that president’s rule be imposed in the state. Party's national president Amit Shah, on July 6, constituted a team comprising Vijayvargiya to visit the affected area and submit a report to him.
The ruling party, however, dismissed BJP's allegations and said the government was taking right steps to maintain law and order.
“We don’t care what the BJP says or thinks," said Hassan Ahmed Imran, Rajya Sabha MP, Trinamool Congress to THE WEEK. “There are communal riots everywhere in the country. Here the loss of life has been less. Just one death has been reported so far. Even that is unfortunate and should not have happened. The right steps are being taken by the state government. The BJP need not lecture us,” Imran said.
