Apolitical or not, opinions differ within state BJP
The Statesman | 27 August 2024
Union minister and BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar today said that students’ march towards the state administrative headquarters Nabanna should be an apolitical one.
This time, there seems to be a different tone within the Bengal BJP regarding the Nabanna Abhijan. While Leader of Opposition in Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has indicated his intention to participate in the Nabanna Abhijan, referring to it as a ‘non-political’ programme, West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar has not clearly stated his stance on the matter. Although he expressed support for the protesters, he emphasized that the Nabanna Abhijan should remain apolitical and that political leaders should refrain from participating.
A group named Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj has called for a Nabanna Abhijan on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the R G Kar incident. This programme is being labeled as ‘non-political,’ which has raised questions in various quarters. While Suvendu Adhikari has announced his intention to join the rally, the state BJP’s position on the matter remains unclear. Sukanta Majumdar has supported the march, offering legal and medical assistance to the participants, but emphasized that the movement should remain non-political. On the other hand, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh has criticized the BJP, alleging that the BJP is actually behind the movement, intending to create chaos rather than seek justice. Mr Adhikari has made a sensational allegation on social media, claiming that the police are conspiring to spread fake news about the 27 August Nabanna Abhijan using fake Facebook accounts operated by civic volunteers. Mr Majumdar commented that if Suvendu is making such claims, he must have credible information. Despite a PIL being filed in the Calcutta High Court opposing the ‘Nabanna Abhijan, the court did not intervene. Even when the state government’s lawyer, Kapil Sibal, brought up the matter in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice’s Bench refused to intervene.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stated that the Abhijan should take place, asserting that the student community has the right to protest and that the chief minister has failed to address the issues.
The police have already begun preparations for the 27 August Nabanna Abhijan. On Saturday, senior police officials, led by Howrah Police Commissioner Praveen Kumar Tripathi, conducted an area inspection from Howrah Maidan to Mallick Fatak. The BJP national IT cell in-charge and Bengal co-observer Amit Malviya said that under tremendous pressure, with widespread people’s protests, following the rape and murder of a young lady doctor in RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, and now the students’ protest gaining momentum, Mamata Banerjee has turned to her last line of defense—the police—to suppress the movement. “After acting DGP of West Bengal (during #Sandeshkhali) and CP Kolkata (for his dubious role in covering up the R G Kar rape and murder case) were thoroughly discredited, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has pushed forward Supratim Sarkar, ADG & IGP, South Bengal, to spread panic before the Nabanno Abhiyan, called by the ‘Paschimbanga Chhatro Samaj’, on 27 August,” he wrote on X-Handle.