BJP prevented from visiting Bengal village, Trinamool justifies action

Kolkata: A BJP delegation led by Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was Thursday taken into preventive custody by West Bengal Police from near a village in Birbhum district where prohibitory orders were clamped after three people died in a clash. The Trinamool Congress justified the police action and accused the BJP of creating unrest.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were whisked away from the outskirts of Makhra village where a clash Monday claimed three lives.

While its leaders were subsequently released, an angry BJP claimed West Bengal has turned into a "safe haven for anarchists and terrorists".

BJP vice president Naqvi described the police action as "undemocratic and aimed at shielding anarchists and terrorists".

"It would have been better had the Trinamool spent its energy in apprehending the anti-nationals than preventing and arresting us," he said.

Expressing concern over the "pitiable condition" of the people of the village, Naqvi said the BJP team in its report would appraise the Centre about the "worrisome" condition in Bengal.

"The way anarchists and terrorists have made Bengal their safe haven, it is amply clear that the situation in Bengal is bad and worrisome. The way people are being killed, houses are burnt and the culprits are roaming scot free, it is evident that this government has been a failure," he said.

There was shoving and pushing between the leaders and police following attempts to break barriers and enter the village.

Naqvi, party MPs Kirti Azad and Udit Raj, and state unit president Rahul Sinha along with other leaders and activists were taken away in a police van from the spot and lodged at the Panrui police station before being released.

The state administration had sent a fax to the state BJP headquarters during the day, informing them about the prohibitory orders and urging them to "plan the visit accordingly".

Sinha and Azad claimed that the administrative action was aimed at hiding the pitiable condition of the villagers as well as Trinamool's anarchy.

Besides holding a statewide protest, the BJP will also meet Governor K.N. Tripathi Friday over the denial to visit the violence-hit village.

The administration had Wednesday too prevented delegations of the BJP, the Congress and the Left Front from visiting the area.

Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee justified the administrative action against the BJP leaders, while party national general secretary Mukul Roy accused the BJP of creating unrest in Bengal.

"The administration is responsible for establishing rule of law and it did what was required. If the administrative procedures are violated, then the administration will take action," Chatterjee said.

Roy added: "There is no place for communalism in Bengal. Not only in Makhra village, the BJP is trying to create unrest in the entire state."