Bengal BJP seeks central rule

Dilip Ghosh

TT,Calcutta, July 5: The Bengal BJP today demanded President's rule in the state citing "complete failure" of the Mamata Banerjee government in maintaining law and order in unrest-hit Baduria in North 24-Parganas.

"I will write to Union home minister Rajnath Singh demanding President's rule in the state. Mamata Banerjee cannot ensure good governance. If she continues as chief minister, the situation in Bengal will worsen further. She should resign immediately," Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said at a news conference at the state unit's headquarters in central Calcutta.

Ghosh later claimed his demand for President's rule had the approval of central BJP leaders.

Several BJP leaders such as former Bengal minder Sidharth Nath Singh and Tripura governor Tathagata Roy have commented on the spat between Mamata and Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi over the trouble in North 24-Parganas, but no central leader of the party has called for President's rule.

Sources in the state BJP said the party's Bengal leadership was "happy" with the chief minister-governor stand-off as it had brought the Baduria incident to the centre stage.

"There have been several clashes between two groups in the past few years, but the media didn't report those.... In this case, the chief minister herself referred to the incident and people know what happened. This will help in the consolidation of Hindu votes," a BJP leader said.

The BJP believes that the unrest in North 24-Parganas would boost the party's Vistarak Yojana - a mass outreach campaign - across Bengal.

While the Bengal BJP has swung into action and attacked Mamata for her comments against governor Tripathi, the party's social media wing has been working overtime to "spread information" about the Baduria flare-up.

Aware that the BJP is cashing in on the unrest to expand its support base in the state, Mamata said at a news conference in Nabanna today: "Over the next 15 days, peace-keeping committees will be formed in all booths across the state.

"Ten to 15-member groups of local people, club members, NGOs, cultural organisations and representatives from (places of worship) will maintain peace in the locality and alert the administration on any development that might lead to communal tension."

The BJP leadership, however, said their sole concern was the "deteriorating law-and-order situation" in the state and the "poor performance" of the Mamata government.

"In almost every district there has been bomb blasts," Bengal BJP chief Ghosh said, adding that the state government was trying to "cover up" these incidents and instances of unrest in Kaliachak (Malda), Dhulagarh (Howrah) and Baduria.

Ghosh announced that the BJP would observe a three-day state-wide protest in front of every police station and SP offices from tomorrow. A Bengal BJP delegation will go to Baduria on Friday to assess the ground situation. The party has also called for a visit by a central team.