PM Narendra Modi might be assembly girls from Sandeshkhali throughout his Bengal go to subsequent month
Amid the political storm in West Bengal over the Sandeshkhali subject, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be assembly some girls from the island who’ve levelled allegations of sexual harassment and extortion in opposition to leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Prime Minister will meet some girls from Sandeshkhali on March 6 when he visits Bengal for a key assembly of the BJP’s girls’s wing forward of the Lok Sabha polls, sources have advised NDTV.
A nondescript island in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas, Sandeshkhali has been catapulted to nationwide highlight after the BJP accused native Trinamool leaders of sexually harassing girls on the island. When NDTV visited Sandeshkhali and spoke to residents, a lot of them accused native Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of land seize and extortion. Some of them alleged that Shahjahan’s aides would extort from them cash obtained beneath welfare schemes of the state and the Centre. The strongman has been lacking for over a month now after a group of Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had gone to raid his dwelling in a corruption case, got here beneath a mob assault.
Adding the assembly with girls from Sandeshkhali to the Prime Minister’s itinerary makes it clear that the BJP desires to base its 2024 marketing campaign in Bengal on this subject. The BJP had made large features in Bengal within the final normal election, including 16 seats to its 2014 tally. It hopes to maintain the momentum going within the upcoming polls.
The BJP, now the primary Opposition in Bengal, has accused the Mamata Banerjee authorities of making an attempt to hush up the difficulty and shielding Sheikh Shahjahan. The Trinamool chief has responded by accusing the BJP of instigating unrest on the island.
The allegations have additionally prompted probes by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the National Human Rights Commission. While the Scheduled Tribes panel visited the island right this moment, the NHRC has mentioned it would depute a group to establish info.
The Sandeshkhali subject has reached the doorstep of the judiciary, with the Calcutta High Court clearing BJP chief Suvendu Adhikari’s go to to the island on Tuesday and pulling up the state authorities for its failure to arrest Shahjahan up to now.
“We have seen the grievances, the women of the area have flagged issues, there has been some land grabbing. This person (Sheikh Shahjahan) cannot be on the run. The state cannot support it. In the suo motu matter, we will ask him to surrender here. He can’t be defying law,” Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam mentioned Tuesday. “If one person can hold the entire population to ransom, the ruling dispensation should not support him. He is just a representative of the public. He is bound to do good to the public,” he added.
The state police have mentioned a complete of 17 individuals have been arrested within the aftermath of the allegations. While Shahjahan’s shut aides Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra have been taken into custody, Shahjahan continues to be on the run. The police have mentioned they’re additionally holding camps on the island in order that native residents can file complaints of land seize and extortion.