Nusrat Jahan ends silence on Sandeshkhali, says ‘always followed party guidelines’
Telegraph | 26 February 2024
Trinamul MP and actor Nusrat Jahan on Sunday ended her silence on Sandeshkhali, which falls within her constituency of Basirhat, amid questions from residents and her party colleagues why she had not visited the trouble-torn area.
However, the post she wrote on X to counter the criticism said she “always followed party guidelines”.
Nusrat’s comment invited the
question whether she meant the lack of party guidelines prevented her visiting
her constituency.
“It
is heart wrenching waking up to such allegations (of truancy). As a woman, as a
public representative I have always followed my party guidelines and served
people,” the post from Nusrat, 34,
said.
A
senior Trinamul leader said: “I never heard that any MP has to obtain
permission from anyone to visit his or her constituency.”
Several
pockets of Sandeshkhali have since February 7 witnessed turbulent protests, led
mostly by women who accuse fugitive Trinamul leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his
aides Shib Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar of land-grab, violence and sexual
assault. Hazra and Sardar have been arrested on charges that include gang
rape but Shahjahan remains at large.
Nusrat is a first-time MP who defeated the BJP’s Sayantan Basu by
the huge margin of 350,369 votes in 2019.
Trinamul
leaders in North 24-Parganas said Nusrat had
not only failed to visit Sandeshkhali, she had even failed to contact Sandeshkhali
MLA Sukumar Mahata, who has been on the ground since the turmoil began.
“She
has not contacted me. I’m on the ground, working for the people. She is the MP
for Basirhat and I hope she has watched on television what has been happening
in Sandeshkhali. It was her duty to visit the area,” Mahata, a Trinamul leader,
said.
“I
did not call her as she is a celebrity and because I am busy working for the
people.”
Trinamul
insiders said Nusrat should
have visited Sandeshkhali at least once and met the people, especially the
women complaining of sexual assault and torture against a section of local
party leaders.
“She
has a huge fan following in Sandeshkhali. Had she gone there and listened to
their grievances, it would have helped the party,” a Trinamul insider said.
Another
Trinamul source said the party had long been unhappy with Nusrat’s performance as MP, with feedback from
the ground suggesting people were complaining about her rare visits to the
constituency since her win in 2019. “Chances of her getting the party ticket
again for this year’s election are slim,” the source said.
Many
have in this context highlighted how Nusrat’s
close friend Mimi Chakraborty, Jadavpur MP and actor, had handed in her
resignation as parliamentarian to Mamata Banerjee on February 15, citing
obstacles she had encountered while serving the people.
In
her post, Nusrat urged people
to keep faith in the state government and lauded what Mamata had done for
Sandeshkhali.
“With
the Sandeshkhali incident raging, Our Hon CM has already sent Help.. and
necessary steps are being taken for the welfare of the people. We are not above
the law.. thus abiding by it and supporting the administration is what one
needs to do,” she said.
“I
have genuinely served the people in my constituency, in times of joy, in times
of trouble.. I act in accordance with the guidelines of my party. and I believe
we must have faith in the state govt and administration, what is wrong shall
always be condemned.”
Many
Sandeshkhali residents continued to castigate her for letting them down in a
time of crisis.
“We
voted for her and we were proud that our MP is an actor. We expected that she
would meet us, at least when we faced a crisis,” said Manika Naskar, a
23-year-old homemaker.
“We
launched a movement against the atrocities on women. Unfortunately, our MP, who
is a woman, did not come to meet us even once.”
Nusrat’s post appeared to suggest that people should “stop politicising”
the issue of her absence.
“We
must refrain from targeting each other.. and come together to help create peace
and not commotion. People’s security and welfare is our top priority.. Rest who
says what about whom does not matter. Like I said before.. I’d repeat again
‘STOP POLITICISING’,” she wrote.
Contacted
over the phone on Sunday evening for her reactions, Nusrat said her office would get in touch
with this correspondent. But no communication had been received from her office
till late night.