Even as tension between the TMC government in West Bengal and the Narendra Modi dispensation in the Centre remains high, a Union minister alleged "TMC goons" attacked his convoy on Thursday.
V. Muraleedharan, minister of state for external affairs, shared a video clip of the alleged incident. The clip showed people pelting stones and breaking windows of a vehicle. Muraleedharan tweeted, "TMC goons attacked my convoy in West Midnapore, broken windows, attacked personal staff. Cutting short my trip."
Muraleedharan tweeted he intended to visit the house of a BJP activist, who was allegedly killed in the post-poll violence. He wrote, "We could not visit the house of @BJP4Bengal Karyakarta, Biswajit Mahesh, who was killed in the post-poll violence at his village Markundachak. Police advised us not to go after the attack on my convoy at Paanchkuri."
The incident came as the ministry of home affairs has asked West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to give a report on the law and order situation in the state, particularly the violence that took place following the election results last weekend, officials said on Thursday. The MHA had earlier asked the state government to submit a report but has not yet received it, the officials said. The governor has been asked to assess the situation and submit his report to the ministry at the earliest.
MHA team in Bengal
A team of four officials from the ministry of home affairs arrived in Kolkata on Thursday to assess the law and order situation amid complaints TMC workers were targeting BJP activists. This is the first such visit by an MHA team to West Bengal during the Narendra Modi government's tenure. The four-member fact-finding team, headed by an additional secretary, will look into reasons for the post-poll violence in West Bengal and also assess the ground situation.
On Wednesday, the ministry had sent a terse reminder to the West Bengal government to submit a detailed report on the post-poll violence and to take necessary measures to stop such incidents "without any loss of time". The ministry had warned that the matter will be taken "seriously" in case the state fails to do so.
(With PTI inputs)
