Birbhum Trinamul Congress district president Anubrata Mondal’s direction to party workers to hurl bombs at the police and administration and burn down the houses of Independent candidates triggered a political storm.
The Opposition demanded his arrest and the state election commission asked the Birbhum district magistrate to immediately probe the matter and send a report along with a CD of his inflammatory speech within 24 hours.
The ruling Trinamul Congress, however, defended the indefensible. Mr Mondal’s followers apparently took his instructions seriously because in Gopalpur village, the house of an Independent candidate Rabilal Soren was set on fire a few hours after Mr Mondal made his provocative speech. Mr Soren ran away to save himself.
Addressing a rally in Parui in Birbhum, Mr Mondal on Wednesday evening incited his party workers against those dissident partymen who were contesting the panchayat polls as Independent candidates. “Do not vote for any Independent candidate and if Independent candidates try to intimidate you then attack and destroy their houses and set them ablaze,” he said. What he said immediately thereafter was even more explosive. “If the administration believes that it will protect these Independents then throw bombs on the police of that administration. I am telling you this,” he said.
The CPI(M) lodged a complaint with the state election commission and so did the BJP.
“Asking party workers to throw bombs on
the police is an anti-national act. We submitted a memorandum to state election commissioner Mira Pande, demanding the immediate arrest of Anubrata Mondal and starting of sedition case against him,” BJP leaders Samit Bhattacharya and Ritesh Tiwari said.