New Delhi: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is "scared" of the aftermath of Birbhum violence as people have started raising their voices and that is why the TMC supremo is trying to divert public attention by talking of opposition unity. Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said the Birbhum incident has tarnished the image of the state and people across the country are condemning the West Bengal government.
"She (Mamata) is scared and worried now. Anti-incumbency against her government has started setting in and people have started criticising her government openly and that is why Banerjee is now trying to divert attention by raising the issue of unity among opposition parties," he told PTI, adding that her statements keep changing and should not be taken seriously. "Sometimes, she talks of making India 'Congress-mukt' and wants non-Congress and non-BJP parties to come together. Sometimes, she criticizes the Congress. She seems to be certainly confused," he said.
Chowdhury, who is also the West Bengal Congress chief and a strong critic of Mamata, said the Centre's Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are the same as Bengal's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Special Investigation Team (SIT), as they target political opponents. "Both are the same and are like brothers and they are playing into the hands of the ruling parties. They are being used against political opponents by the ruling governments," he alleged.
He said his party has already approached court for a CBI probe into the Birbum violence and the investigation should be monitored by the court, as the Congress has apprehensions over the functioning of CBI. The WB SIT already stands exposed as the court has found lapses in the SIT functioning, he alleged. Chowdhury also said that the Birbhum incident is only an internal conflict within the Trinamool Congress and the violence was a result of a factional feud within the party.
"The issue was of who would 'loot the booty' and for apportioning of the booty, and was a result of internal conflict which has taken a toll on common people. It is a reflection of medieval barbarity and the dastardly act has certainly tarnished the image of West Bengal in the eyes of the people of India. The entire country has been condemning the state government for the violence," he said.
Also read: Mamata accuses BJP of attacking country's democratic structure
Unidentified people had on March 21 set ablaze 10 houses in Birbhum, killing at least eight people, including women and children. Choudhary's remarks come as Mamata wrote to all non-BJP chief ministers and opposition parties, including the Congress which her party had been attacking recently, calling on all "progressive forces" to come together and put up a united fight against the "oppressive BJP regime". The West Bengal chief minister called for a meeting to discuss strategies to take on the saffron party and also commit to the cause of a unified and principled opposition that will make way for the "government that the country deserves".
The BJP, however, claimed that the TMC's national ambitions have fallen flat.
PTI
