BJP fight not enough for strike

TT, Nov. 10: Trinamul today alleged that nine of its supporters were beaten up by BJP activists trying to enforce a dawn-to-dusk bandh demanding tea wage revision which hardly found support among garden workers.

The ineffectiveness of the bandh and the attack reflected two aspects about the BJP in north Bengal. First, that the party is trying to make its voice heard in north Bengal. Second, it does not have the organisation to make a strike call successful in the tea belt.

The dawn-to-dusk bandh was called by the BJP in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts.

The clash at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar district occurred when the BJP was holding a road blockade around 1pm.

Trinamul supporters claimed that nine of them were injured when the BJP activists, who were blocking the road, attacked them at Debinagar Colony, 40km from Jalpaiguri town.

"Our cadres were passing by the blockade when they were assaulted by BJP workers. Nine Trinamul members suffered injuries," said a Trinamul leader.

Of the nine injured persons, Safikul Islam and Binod Kanu were admitted to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri. The other seven are under treatment at Jalpaiguri district hospital

The BJP denied the charge and said its supporters had been attacked by Trinamul activists.

Rajesh Kumar Yadav, the superintendent of police, Cooch Behar, said the situation under control now.

Earlier today, alleged bandh supporters pelted an NBSTC bus with stones near Fulbari, located in Jalpaiguri district and on the outskirts of Siliguri. The police said 18 BJP workers had been picked up from Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts today for trying to enforce the shutdown.

The strike to demand immediate revision of wages for tea garden workers didn't affect normal life in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. However, private buses were off roads in Jalpaiguri district. In Alipurduar district, shops and educational institutions were partially shut and private transport was slightly affected. In all the three districts, tea gardens remained open and work went on smoothly.

A Siliguri-based BJP leader who didn't want to be named admitted that the strike showed that the party didn't have base in the tea belt.

"Despite being the first political party to call a general strike on tea wage revision, the BJP received lukewarm response in all three districts. Most significantly, tea workers did not support the strike. Plantations in the Dooars and the neighbouring Mekhliganj subdivision of Cooch Behar were open today. The reason for the strike failure is the party's lack of support base in the tea belt," he said.

Dipen Pramanik, the Jalpaiguri district BJP president, however, claimed that the strike was a success.

"People have spontaneously supported today's strike to demand tea wage revision, which is due since April 1. Trinamul cadres have tried to foil the strike at several places but they could not succeed," Pramanik said.

The JMM, an ally of the BJP, said it had extended its support to the strike. "But our cadres didn't hit the streets to make the strike a success," said John Barla of the JMM.

A conglomeration of 23 trade unions, except Trinamul, as called a 48-hour strike in the tea industry from tomorrow.