BJP demands arrest of troublemakers in WB communal violence

BJP demanded stern action against the perpetrators of the communal violence in Deganga in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

Claiming that a Trinamool Congress leader Haji Nurul Islam was instigating trouble there, BJP MP from the Rajya Sabha Chandan Mitra said Islam and others who wrecked havoc in the area should be arrested.

'Elections are scheduled in the region soon. The violence is aimed at creating disturbance among a particular community. The Left government should ensure that locals who fled when their villages were attacked return to their places of dwelling,' Mitra told reporters here. He said when the violence continued unabated for almost three days, BJP Parliamentary party chief L K Advani instructed a delegation to visit the affected areas and take stock of the situation.

'It was shocking to see that hundreds of people had left their villages and fled. Numerous shops, houses were gutted. The Left government reacted very late to the situation but gave some compensation to some victims,' Mitra said. He said the troublemakers were attempting to hamper the preparations for Durga Puja celebrations at a venue that has been going on for the past 40 years and the core issue was about land-grabbing.

The BJP MP said the area has never witnessed any communal violence despite infiltration by Bangladeshis for several years now.

One person was killed and 25 others, including a DSP and seven policemen, injured in the violence after several places of worship were desecrated following clashes between two groups on Thursday.

The CPI-M and TC have been blaming each other over the violence and senior Left leader Prakash Karat has accused the rival party of trying 'to isolate' the CPI-M and other Left parties in the state.

The BJP has accused both the parties of indulging in politics of 'competitive appeasement'. Also present with Mitra at the press meet was Nishikant, the Lok Sabha MP from Godda (Jharkhand), who spoke about the strangle-hold of Naxals in several districts of the state such as Dumka, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur and Sahebganj.

A police officer was killed while two of his colleagues were injured in a fierce encounter with Maoists in the hilly jungles of Jama block in Dumka on Friday.

'I have time and again brought to the notice of the Centre the backwardness of these districts. Absence of basic amenities and lack of development has led to locals helping Naxals,' the BJP MP said.