THE unapologetic stand taken by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on the clash between BJP supporters and police in Kolkata is another sign that the TMC has decided to dig its feet in, to deny the BJP any ground in the state.
The TMC has lately been subdued over snowballing corruption allegations, particularly discovery of cash hoards on premises linked to its leaders. But on Wednesday, the day after the Kolkata chaos, none of that was on display. Addressing an administrative meeting, Mamata said police could have opened fire at the violent protesters, but had shown restraint. Meeting the injured police officers, Abhishek said that in police’s shoes, he might have shot the agitators in the head.
The visuals of policemen being beaten, and a police vehicle being set on fire, have come handy for the TMC, as they have put the BJP on the defensive over the acts of its supporters. The BJP has earlier used similar visuals to attack its opponents, in other states.
In what proved a fortuitous decision, the TMC refrained from pressing its own workers and cadres into action to thwart the BJP’s protest in Kolkata. Any violence pursuant to this would have been reduced to a political clash, with responsibility on both sides.
Now, since the violence Tuesday, in statements and on social media, the TMC has been underlining that the BJP is a “destructive party”.
The visuals have also taken eyes off the corruption taint tagging the TMC, even if momentarily.
The party is aware that the BJP is trying desperately to rejuvenate its rank and file after the drubbing in a series of polls in the state, and a successful protest would have gone a long way towards that.
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The TMC is most pleased about what they see as the comeuppance of TMC-turned-BJP mainstay Suvendu Adhikari. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Adhikari and (BJP Bengal chief) Sukanta Majumder don’t enjoy any popularity. So, they have no other way but to indulge in hooliganism. They are thinking that after creating this unrest, they will become leaders.”
Ghosh said the TMC is telling the people to see the pictures and clippings of these “hooligans” beating unarmed police and inform police if there are any leads.
One of the visuals the TMC is flaunting is of Adhikari’s protests at a woman police officer putting him under detection. He can be heard saying: “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch my body. You are a lady. I am a male. You cannot touch my body. Call male police.”
Ghosh accused Adhikari of doing “drama”. “Police is police, how can you differentiate them as female or male?” Minister Sashi Panja raised the matter in the Assembly Thursday.
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Adhikari shot back at the TMC, asking why the BJP’s adjournment motion seeking a discussion on corruption had not been allowed to be read in the House.
Bystander CPM saw another drama in the TMC vs BJP duel. CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “Mamata Banerjee is desperately pumping up the BJP to help them become politically relevant in the state. She is basically liable to the BJP.”
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