The Tehatta police firing sparked a political storm in the state with the CPI(M), Congress and BJP launching a scathing attack against the Mamata Banerjee government. The police firing in Nadia’s Tehatta led to death of one person while one other suffered bullet injury. The law and order situation has deteriorated badly during the 18 month rule of Mamata Banerjee government which has also lost control over its police.
The police has become trigger-happy. These were the reactions of political leaders of various Opposition parties in the state. “Ms Banerjee had belligerently attacked the CPI(M) for the police firing in Nandigram. Ironically after coming to power, she is following in the CPI(M)’s footsteps as has been proved by frequent police firings,” state BJP president Rahul Sinha said.
Condemning the incident, CPI(M) politburo member and leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said that there was no need for the police to have opened fire on the unarmed people of Tehatta.
This was a rebuttal of the claim made by inspector general (law and order) Surajit Kar Purkayastha that the police had to fire in self defence when the violent mob attacked the bungalow of the SDPO. “This government thinks that police firing is the solution to all problems. It is not. There was a dispute over the venue of a Jagadhatri Puja in Tehatta. The police should have been tackled the matter in a more sensitive manner,” he added.
Senior CPI(M) leader Shyamal Chakraborty said that the state police had become trigger-happy. “In the past few months since this government has come to power, there had been several incidents of police firing making it clear that the police has become trigger-happy,” he claimed.
Echoing his opinion, Union minister Adhir Chowdhury said that the Mamata Banerjee government had lost control over the police. “We condemn the police’s tendency to open fire at the drop of a hat.”