Political conflict broke out between the Center and the state government after two BJP leaders were attacked in landslide-hit North Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized Trinamool Congress over law and order issues, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused them of ‘politicizing natural disaster’.
30 people died and many went missing in landslides and flood incidents due to torrential rains in North Bengal. A day later, BJP MP Khagen Murmu and Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh were attacked by a mob at Nagarakata in Jalpaiguri. He was visiting relief sites. The incident has sparked a political controversy amid search and rescue operations.
Prime Minister Modi had criticized the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government over the attack on two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in the northern part of the state. The Prime Minister had criticized the incident in a post on ‘X’ and said that this incident highlights the ‘very pathetic’ situation of law and order in West Bengal.
The Prime Minister said in the post, ‘The manner in which our party colleagues, including a sitting MP and an MLA, who have been serving the people affected by floods and landslides in West Bengal, were attacked is extremely appalling. This exposes the insensitivity of TMC and the very pathetic situation of law and order in the state.
On the Prime Minister’s post, Banerjee issued a detailed statement on ‘X’, in which she wrote, ‘It is unfortunate and extremely worrying that the Prime Minister of India has decided to politicize a natural disaster without waiting for a proper investigation, especially when people in North Bengal are grappling with the situation in the aftermath of devastating floods and landslides.’
He alleged that while the administration and police were engaged in relief and rescue operations, BJP leaders ‘decided to go to the affected areas with a convoy of a large number of cars and under the security cover of central forces’ and that too ‘without giving any information to the local police and administration.’
Earlier in the day, a video shared by Shankar Ghosh showed injured Murmu bleeding from his face and nose.
Ghosh alleged that local people associated with the ruling TMC ‘kicked, punched and threw stones’ at the two.
Union minister of state Sukanta Majumdar, who is a former state BJP president, also hit out at the ruling party, alleging that Murmu and Ghosh were ‘brutally attacked in the presence of Mamata-police’.
The Chief Minister questioned, ‘How can the state administration, local police or Trinamool Congress be blamed for this incident?’
Expressing strong objection to the Prime Minister’s remarks, Banerjee said, “The Prime Minister has directly blamed the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government without any verifiable evidence, legal investigation or administrative report.” This is not just a political collapse; This is a violation of the constitutional values that the Prime Minister has sworn to protect. In any democracy, the law must take its course, and only due process can determine conviction – not a tweet from a political platform.” He said the sudden concern for West Bengal appeared less like sympathy and more like opportunistic political drama from a Prime Minister who had visited Manipur, engulfed by caste violence, only 964 days later.
Banerjee stressed that the violence must be condemned, but ‘this is not the time to beat our chests in a partisan manner’. This is the time to help and heal the wounds.
Accusing the BJP of trying to create division, he said, ‘It is also clear that the BJP is resorting to the well-worn narrative of North Bengal versus South Bengal in the hope of polarizing people before the elections. Let us be clear: Bengal is one – emotionally, culturally and politically.
Appealing to Modi, she said, “I urge the Prime Minister to listen to the elected state government and not just your party colleagues. You are the Prime Minister of India, not just of BJP. Your responsibility is to build the nation and not to create discourse.
