BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
Credit: PTI Photo
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal over the growing spate of mob attacks in the state.
"TMC means Talibani Mindset and Culture. The entire country is shocked after seeing the brutal video of a Talibani-style, Kangaroo court justice being delivered in broad daylight on the streets of Bengal," Poonawalla told news agency ANI, commenting on the incident of a woman being beaten up in broad daylight in Uttar Dinajpur district's Chopra area.
Attacking the ruling party in the state for the violence, Poonawalla alleged, "The person who was doing this is said to be a close aide and a close person to the TMC MLA there. Instead of coming down hard on this shocking video, the TMC MLA has actually defended it by saying that the woman in question who was being beaten up had a very evil character."
"He has victim-shamed the victim and has even gone on and said that in a 'Muslim Rashtra' there are certain terms and conditions, thereby justifying this kind of barbaric act. What is unfortunate is that those who speak up about Manipur, about women's issues are silent today," he added.
TMC MLA Hamidur Rahman, however, had earlier denied any connection with the accused.
The BJP leader went on to attack several members of Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A., saying that leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Mahua Moitra, Sagarika Ghose—"the entire rank and file of INDI Alliance leaders"—were silent during the Sandeshkhali incident.
"...They were silent when a Muslim woman who was a supporter of the BJP was stripped in Coochbehar, they were silent when post-poll violence, rapes took place in West Bengal, and they are silent on issues like Swati Maliwal and this kind of kangaroo court justice being dispensed. This shows that they do not care for women's issues. They only care for their politically convenient agenda," Poonawalla charged.
The BJP leader's comments come on the back of reports of escalating mob attacks in West Bengal—over the past three days, at least three people have died in mob attacks in state, with the latest death occurring on Monday morning.
With regard to the incident of the woman being thrashed in broad daylight, the police have said that the accused—Tajmul Haque alias JCB—has been apprehended.