More than a month after the women of Sandeshkhali rose in protest against the land grab and sexual exploitation by local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s general secretary and the Number two person after party supremo Mamata Banerjee, today held a public meeting in Basirhat, located in the same district of North 24-Parganas, and maintained that the party had never supported any leader involved in wrongdoing.
Banerjee stressed that the Trinamool Congress does not shield any leader involved in misconduct. He cited the examples of Shahjahan Sheikh, the main accused in the Sandeshkhali atrocities, and Saradha chit fund group chairman Sudipto Sen, claiming that both had been arrested by state police.
“We have zero tolerance towards any wrongdoings. Be it Shahjahan Sheikh or Saradha group chairman Sudipto Sen. All of them were arrested by Mamata Banerjee’s police and not by any Central agency like the CBI or ED. We have taken action against our leaders Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriyo Mullick. The Opposition only did politics over the incident,” the Trinamool Congress national general secretary alleged at the public meeting.
This was the first rally by any senior Trinamool Congress leader in Basirhat area since the flare-up in Sandeshkhali area last month.
In a jab at the BJP, Banerjee criticised their apparent concern for women’s issues, accusing them of hypocrisy.
“Today, the BJP is lecturing on Nari Shakti. They are shedding tears here. But have they taken any action against those BJP leaders accused of harassing women wrestlers? The answer is no,” he said.
“The BJP doesn’t take action against their leaders accused of assault and abuse of women, but we have removed leaders like Uttam Sardar and Shahjahan Sheikh from the party,” he said.
Banerjee said the Opposition had politicised the Sandeshkhali incident to reap political dividends.
Abhishek Banerjee questioned the CBI investigation of the attack on the Enforcement Directorate officials in Sandeshkhali and asked why the agency had not taken into custody Uttam Sardar and Shiba Prasad Hazra, who were accused of sexual harassment by women in the area, behind bars and that BJP only has its eyes on the Lok Sabha polls. “Has BJP taken action against Brij Bhushan Singh? The BJP’s Karnataka leader B.S. Yedurappa figures in a POCSO case.” he said.
“Those who were raising the issue of atrocities against women (in Sandeshkhali) are not to be seen anymore. Such complaints were raised against Uttam Sardar and Shiba Prasad Hazra. Have they been taken into custody by the CBI?” the Diamond Harbour MP said.
“This is because the BJP’s real intention is not to ensure the safety and security of women. The BJP only intends to weaken the TMC’s organisational strength by misleading the people. That is why they send the CBI and the ED to everyone’s house. No matter how many times you send the Central investigation agencies to our doors, the people will give them a befitting reply,” he added.
“Ever since Sheikh Shahjahan was taken into CBI custody, political leaders and media persons have stopped going to Sandeshkhali. Their intention was to force the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan. Now that I have raised the issue, the CBI might take both Uttam Sardar and Shiba Prasad Hazra into its custody. But I will appeal to the people not to get misled by the BJP,” he said.
Banerjee also said:“Only the TMC took action against its leaders. Did the CPI(M) arrest its leaders during its 34-year rule in Bengal? Only Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has the guts to take action against its leaders and put them behind bars,” he said.
Reacting to his allegations, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said: “The State police were forced to arrest Shahjahan Sheikh as there was too much pressure on the State Government. He was being given protection by the police. Today, their crimes have come out in the open and that is why they are crying foul.”