BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Thursday alleged that the TMC hired shooters from Bangladesh to kill his party workers in Bengal, a charge vehemently dismissed as "baseless" by the ruling dispensation in the state. Vijayvargiya, who is a central observer of the BJP in West Bengal, also claimed that state government officials were acting as "cadres of the TMC".
"A few days ago, our party leader Manish Shukla was killed. He had a licensed personal weapon. But his weapon was seized by the police months before he died. "Earlier our party workers were killed and hanged.
But, now, shooters are being hired by the TMC from Bangladesh to kill them. From this, you can understand, under what sort of adverse conditions we are facing." he told ABP News. Asked if the party can furnish proof for the claims that it made, the BJP leader said "these aren't political allegations, only a CBI probe can bring out the truth".
"In Manish Shukla murder case, too, we have sought a CBI probe. During the October 8 rally, chemical-laced water was sprayed on BJP cadres. There should be an investigation to find out what chemical was used as so many of our party workers fell sick," Vijayvargiya said. BJP MP Locket Chatterjee on Wednesday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging him to seek a report from the Bengal government on the "use of chemicals" in water cannons.
Among others, the saffron party's youth wing state president Soumitra Khan and Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta also submitted a memorandum to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in New Delhi, protesting against "police excesses" during last week's rally. Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay had said colours used during the festival of Holi were mixed in the water so that protesters could be identified later.
Dubbing Vijayvargiya's allegations as "baseless", senior TMC leader and state food supplies minister Jyotipriyo Mullick dared the BJP's Bengal minder to provide evidence. "Kailash Vijayvargiya, who hails from Madhya Pradesh and has no idea about the geography or political culture of Bengal, is making politically motivated allegations. Their October 8 rally was super-flop show, and to hide his failure as the central observer, he is making baseless allegations. I challenge him to prove his allegations.
"The CID is probing the Manish Shukla case, and they will bring out the truth," he said. Shukla, a close aide of BJP MP Arjun Singh and local councillor, was shot dead on October 4 evening by a gang of four bike-borne men near Titagarh police station.
The West Bengal CID, which is probing the case, has arrested three persons so far. Two TMC leaders were also questioned by the CID on Thursday in connection with the investigation.
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