A day after violence broke out during a Ram Navami procession in West Bengal’s Howrah city, the Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said Friday that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government “had failed miserably in preventing violent incidents”. “There is a communal tinge behind this incident. On a number of occasions earlier, that particular region has witnessed an eruption of communal clashes. This time also, it has occurred. It is the sheer failure of this administration. Because the Ram Navami rally changed its direction….So, who should be held responsible for this kind of dereliction of duty.. for this kind of indifference?” Chowdhury told The Indian Express. “The state government of West Bengal failed miserably in forestalling this kind of communal conflict. It is also outlandish to note that the ruling dispensation of Bengal and the BJP both are heading Ram Navami rallies in a competitive manner. This is unprecedented in the annals of the political history of Bengal. Sometimes, I get confused and wonder whether there is a competition (between the TMC and the BJP) on who is a bigger Hindu,” he added. Chowdhury claimed that in some places, “common people have found there is bonhomie between leaders of the two parties on the occasion of Ram Navami”. “Ram Navami is certainly a festival celebrated across the country, including Bengal. But the euphoria that has been generated on this occasion certainly smacks of some sort of political equation. In spite of all the forewarnings in Bengal, the state government has been found indulgent in allowing this kind of rally with virulent slogans… Even they changed the route on their own… Everything happened in the full glare of the administration.” On Opposition unity, Chowdhury said the Trinamool Congress was “half-hearted.” “The West Bengal Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) never mentioned the name of Rahul Gandhi – neither in the context of the Bharat Jodo Yatra nor in the context of his conviction. When Opposition parties were uniting in Delhi, they (TMC) remained away initially. They did not want to be with us. Now they are saying they are with the Opposition, but they send less important leaders to the Opposition meetings… I have not seen their floor leaders or chief whips attending these meetings, but our party is trying to bring everyone together keeping the compulsions of state politics aside,” he said. Chowdhury said it was “heartening” to see the Opposition’s support for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after his disqualification as MP. However, Chowdhury said, his “personal view” was that “Banerjee should come out with a much more vociferous protest and condemnation against this kind of heinous conspiracy hatched by the ruling dispensation against Rahul Gandhi.” Without naming Gandhi, Banerjee said in a tweet after his disqualification on May 23: “In PM Modi’s New India, Opposition leaders have become the prime target of the BJP. While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the Cabinet, Opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy." On Thursday, clashes had broken out between two groups during Ram Navami festivities in the Howrah district of West Bengal. According to reports, some people started pelting stones as the procession was passing through the PM Basti area. As tension escalated between the two groups, some shops, and houses were vandalised and vehicles were set on fire. Fresh incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Friday afternoon.
