Jabalpur, May 7 (PTI) Union minister Jual Oram on Thursday condemned the violence in West Bengal and the killing of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant, saying strictest possible action will be taken against the accused once the BJP forms its government in the state.
West Bengal is passing through a phase of political transition and the situation will improve after the BJP takes over the reins, he asserted.
Forty-two-year-old Chandrakant Rath, a close aide of Adhikari, was shot to death by motorcycle-borne assailants around 10.30 pm on Wednesday on Kolkata's northern fringes of Madhyamgram. The incident soared political tempers in the eastern state.
"This is an unfortunate incident. I condemn it in the strongest possible words. After our government comes to power, a complete investigation will be conducted, and those found guilty will be given the harshest possible punishment according to the law," Oram told reporters.
Violence used to occur in West Bengal during the rule of CPI and CPI(M) as well, which increased further. But once the BJP government is formed, we will control the law and order situation and provide good governance, he said.
"Mamata Banerjee is still the chief minister (of West Bengal) and is not ready to resign. Our (BJP) government is going to be formed and preparations for the swearing-in are underway. This is a transition period," Oram said.
"The incidents that have occurred during this period should not have taken place. Therefore, our demand is that those who carried out these incidents must be severely punished," he said.
On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' allegations, Oram said if the BJP is a "vote thief", then the Congress must have clinched a victory in Kerala in a similar way.
India's democracy was old and the Election Commission of India was a reputed institution that conducted elections in an able and impartial manner, the Union minister said.
He said questioning the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and election process only after losing polls amounted to an insult to democracy.
The BJP has the highest number of tribal MLAs, MPs, district panchayat members, sarpanchs and public representatives, and enjoys 80 per cent support in tribal areas, Oram added.
Speaking about the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, he said it was among the country's finest military operations, and congratulated the armed forces, Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Home and Defence ministers.
"The operation achieved its objective within 22 minutes and the armed forces carried it out successfully," he said.
Targeting Pakistan, he said India's neighbouring country was waging a proxy war through terrorism and such attempts would never succeed.
According to the minister, after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, no firm response was given to Pakistan, which considered India a weak nation.
"But through Operation Sindoor, we showed them that we can respond and demonstrate our strength. We have given proof of this," he said.