What’s going on in West Bengal? What explains the attack on the Enforcement Directorate team at Sandeshkhali last week, where they had gone to investigate Trinamool muscleman Shahjahan Sheikh in the PDS (ration) “scam” case? According to the ED, over a thousand people attacked their team and the Central forces accompanying them. That there was no bloodbath was because the Central forces showed immense restraint and did not fire at the marauding mob. Any casualties, apart from taking precious lives, would have given the state’s ruling party the opening to turn the matter into an election issue in an attempt to try and ride the wave of public sympathy ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. What happened in West Bengal was the worst display of muscle power, with the intention to strike fear in the hearts of the men who were there to do their job.
This violence is reminiscent of what Bengal witnessed post the Assembly elections when thousands of Opposition supporters had to seek refuge in neighbouring states as hoodlums went on a rampage, spreading fear and mayhem. If the latest act in Sandeshkhali is a curtain raiser to what is to follow in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, then it is a matter of worry.
The chaos that the state has been witnessing is often justified by saying that Bengal has political violence in its DNA. The truth is, there is no justification for any violence. It is not only illegal, but also undemocratic to muzzle and terrorize one’s opponents to stop them from exercising their freedom of speech and action. Why is it that it’s only Bengal that is replete with such news? It will not be an exaggeration to say that Bengal is on its way to be the Wild East of India. Lest we forget, it’s only in two states that voting in elections—any election—is spread over several phases: in Jammu and Kashmir, and in West Bengal.
While it is understandable in the case of J&K, now a Union territory, with its long history of disruptions caused by Pakistan-backed terrorism, why do elections have to be staggered in Bengal? Recently, five states went to the polls—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram. Not a single incident of violence was reported from any of these five states. Voters went to their respective polling booths, cast their votes in peace and returned home.
There was not a single report of coercion, voter suppression, of village after village not being allowed to come out to vote, of bombs being thrown in front of voting booths, of goons running around with pistols—things that routinely happen in Bengal. It is to facilitate the movement of Central forces that the elections in Bengal are staggered, as there is no other way that elections can be held in that state. But even then voter suppression takes place, because local leaders know how to game the system. Shahjahan Sheikh is one such leader, who was once valuable to the CPM, and is now equally valuable to the Trinamool Congress. But then West Bengal is not a banana republic. As a state which is an integral part of India, it has to follow the rule of law. Till date, there is not one word of condemnation from the state ministers about the criminal incident that took place in Sandeshkhali. Instead, we have Mamata Banerjee’s ministers justifying the attack, by saying that it was an expression of public anger against the ED.
The role of the state police in this case is particularly problematic. The ED is accusing the police of diluting the Sandeshkhali FIR by not listing charges such as attempt to murder, and deliberately causing injuries to public servants. The job of the police is to maintain law and order. If the ED’s charges are correct then the problem of the police being used as a political tool comes to the fore. If media reports have to be believed, the state police, instead of booking the criminals of Sandeshkhali, have instead registered an FIR against ED officials, charging them of “criminal trespass” and “outraging” a woman’s modesty. The nature of their job is such that the police have to listen to their respective masters. The politicization of the police happens in every state, but in Bengal this aspect is a bit too blatant. But then in Bengal, every aspect related to governance is blatant and mind boggling.
Meanwhile, the ED says that the PDS scam in Bengal is in the range of Rs 10,000 crore. It’s a humungous amount and cannot be brushed under the carpet by saying it is a case of vendetta politics by the Centre. If the courts too refuse to give bail to those accused in such scams, then there must be some substance to the charges. It’s the poor people’s money that is lost in such scams and they must be given justice. The ED must be allowed to probe the scam. It is incumbent on the part of the West Bengal government to create suitable conditions for the ED so that it can carry out the investigation into the scam.