Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Shankar Ghosh today received a rapturous welcome from the women of Sandeshkhali who have been protesting against torture, sexual exploitation and landgrab by Trinamool Congress leaders of the region. The women blew conch shells and threw flower petals to welcome the BJP leaders. Senior CPIM leader Brinda Karat too was allowed to enter Sandeshkhali with just one companion.
Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, and Shankar Ghosh, an MLA from north Bengal, were allowed into Sandeshkhali without any other supporters after a last-ditch attempt by the Government to prevent them failed when the Chief Justice brushed aside the Advocate-General’s contentions that the BJP leaders’ presence would lead to law and order problems in the area. This was Adhikari’s third attempt to reach Sandeshkhali.
The Division Bench presided by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam refused to interfere with a Single Bench order that allowed Adhikari and another BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh to visit Sandeshkhali even as a police contingent blocked the leaders at Dhamakhali on the plea that the State had moved the Division Bench and hence they could not be allowed to proceed without the Court’s clearance.
The Single Bench of Calcutta High Court, which on Monday granted permission to Adhikari to visit Sandeshkhali, had also directed the BJP leader not to give any provocative speech or create any law and order situation in the restive area.
The West Bengal Government had moved an appeal before the Division Bench challenging Monday’s order.
Instead, the Calcutta High Court questioned the State of West Bengal for failing to arrest the Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been absconding since the Enforcement Directorate team that came to raid his residence was attacked by his supporters on January 5.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya described Sheikh as the “sole cause” of the entire problem that Sandeshkhali is witnessing.
“This person who is said to have masterminded the entire thing is still absconding. So, if he is defying law, obviously the Government should not be supporting him,” observed the Court.
After the court’s order was communicated to the police officers who had stopped the BJP leaders at Dhamakhali, which is across the Kalindi river from the island of Sandeshkhali, Suvendu Adhikari and Shankar Ghosh were allowed to board a motorised country-boat at about 11:55 am.
After a three-hour visit, Suvendu Adhikari said that the situation in Sandeshkhali was horrific and there was complete lawlessness. “What these unfortunate women told us is truly spine-chilling. This is a clear example of anarchy.” he said.
“The experiences narrated by the locals are spine-chilling. Their lands have been usurped, and women exploited… and everything happened with the help of the police and the administration. The situation is completely horrific and is a clear example of anarchy prevailing in the area,” he said.
Adhikari was seen visiting houses and speaking to the inhabitants of Sandeshkhali even as women broke down while narrating the reports of exploitation. Many also tied rakhis on Adhikari and Shankar Ghosh.
Reacting to Adhikari’s visit, the Trinamool Congress dubbed it as an attempt to vitiate the atmosphere.
“Yes, there have been a few complaints in the area. And both the administration and the party are trying to address those. But the BJP is trying to communalise the issue and vitiate the atmosphere. The BJP is spreading canards against the State Government,” Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. He dismissed the visit of CPIM leader Brinda Karat to Sandeshkhali and said: “These leaders are going on a fashion parade.”
TMC GOVERNMENT FACES JUDGES’ IRE
The State Government today was at the receiving end of the Chief Justice’s ire.
During the hearing, Justice Sivagnanam told the lawyers that the suo motu case regarding the allegation of sexual assault and land grabbing would be heard by the division bench on February 26 and asked the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate to be present through their counsels on that day.
Referring to the situation in Sandeshkhali, Justice Sivagnanam remarked that Sheikh, having remained the member of public representative as part of Zila Parishad, should come forward to address the allegations against him.
“He is a public representative. In the suo motu matter, we will ask him to surrender here and he is a people’s representative. He cannot be defying law. Let him appear before this Court,” said the Court.
The Bench added that he should not be encouraged by the State as there was “prima facie material to show he had done damage to public”.
“One person cannot hold the entire population to ransom. That person should not be encouraged by the State dispensation, that is our prima facie view,” the Court remarked.
While the Court said that it does not know whether he was being protected or not, it also remarked that the State police certainly had failed to arrest him. “It could mean State police don’t have the wherewithal to arrest him or he is outside the jurisdiction,” it observed.