West Bengal Violence: BJP, TMC Play Blame Game

As West Bengal continues to witness violent incidents in the aftermath of the 2019 general election, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress point fingers at each other.

Clashes between the ruling TMC and BJP took place in several districts, including North 24 Parganas, Coochbehar, Howrah and West Burdwan, PTI reported. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at least 10 people were killed in the violence, with eight of them belonging to the TMC, according to the report.

So, is there a breakdown of law and order in the state?

Senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha parliamentarian Saugata Roy dismissed the idea. The home ministry’s ask for an action report was a complete overreaction, he told BloombergQuint in an interview. The BJP is thinking it had come to power in West Bengal too and so is creating mayhem in the state, he said. Roy also ruled out the possibility of reaching out to the BJP to resolve the situation.

Post-poll violence has been reported from various places of West Bengal after the BJP secured 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state—four less than the TMC.

Pointing out that there were no instances of violence elsewhere in the country after the Lok Sabha results were announced, BJP’s West Bengal President Dilip Ghosh accused the TMC of being a party without any ideology.

He, however, said there was no call yet from the BJP to enforce President’s rule in West Bengal. But Mamata Banerjee’s administration has lost control of law and order in the state, he said.

Watch the full debate here: