A file photo of Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev,
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leaders on Tuesday said the party-led government in West Bengal is taking action on allegations of sexual atrocities and land grab in Sandeshkhali, and hit out at BJP leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai terming his letter seeking action in the matter a "gimmick".
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Trinamool Congress leaders Sushmita Dev, Sagarika Goshe and Saket Gokhale accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicising the Sandeshkhali issue, and said the state is taking action and key accused Shajahan Sheikh will be arrested soon.
Asked about the Chhattisgarh chief minister's letter to his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee on the Sandeshkhali issue, Dev said he should focus on his own state.
"Chhattisgarh chief minister's letter is a gimmick. Where were these leaders when a tribal girl was stripped and raped? Did he write to the prime minister?" Dev said, referring to an incident in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
"Mamata Banerjee is following her Rajdharma. You were quiet when Manipur incidents were happening. Keep your crocodile tears to yourself," she said.
Gokhale alleged that there have been at least four incidents of rape in Chhattisgarh in the last few weeks.
"The Chhattisgarh CM should look within. People still don't know who is the chief minister of Chhattisgarh...he should look at his own state," he said.
On the Sandeshkhali issue, Ghose said, "The West Bengal Police is acting, will act and will continue to act. The government is right there on the ground, complaints have been recorded and land is being returned to the aggrieved parties. The law is being upheld and justice will be delivered. Shajahan Sheikh will be brought to justice."
Asked if the Sandeshkhali issue would have any impact on the outcome of the coming Lok Sabha polls, Dev said welfare schemes run by the state government will speak for themselves.
"In a democracy to say what people will do is a sign of overconfidence, which only BJP has. Mamata Banerjee is not saying anything out of arrogance, but she has faith. The welfare schemes have benefitted lakhs of people," she said.
Dev also said the West Bengal chief minister will soon visit Sandeshkhali, and asked when Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Manipur.
"In Sandeshkhali, 20 arrests have been made. Now that the high court has clarified there is no stay on arrest (of Shajahan Sheikh)...the Bengal police will act on it and is consistently acting on it... Mamata Banerjee does not run away the way BJP ran away from Manipur... She is making sure people irrespective of party allegiance are getting arrested," Dev added.
Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24-Parganas district has been tense with a large number of women in the locality accusing TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land-grab and sexually assaulting” them under coercion.
Sheikh has been absconding since January 5 when a mob attacked Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers during a raid at his residence in connection with an alleged ration scam.