Kolkata: A fresh political spat broke out between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal over the controversy kicked off by claims of widespread sexual abuse allegedly by TMC functionaries in Sandeshkhali.
On Saturday, an unverified ‘sting video’ of the BJP’s mandal president of Sandeshkhali Block-1 surfaced in which he can be heard claiming BJP leaders including MLA Suvendu Adhikari ‘fabricated charges’ and ‘paid to get fake testimonies of villagers’ to corner the ruling TMC. ThePrint was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at a press conference in Kolkata said he, too, did not know the origin of the video and received it on his phone in the morning ‘hoping’ it was shot by an independent journalist.
No one has come forward to stake claim to the ‘sting video’ so far.
With Sandeshkhali finding mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election speeches with the allegation that “Hindu and Dalit women” are not safe in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also cited the ‘sting video’ to allege that the BJP ‘scripted’ the narrative to malign the state’s image.
“BJP had scripted it well. The truth has been exposed. I have been saying this for a long time,” she said at a public meeting in Nadia district Saturday.
Back in Kolkata, the TMC showcased the video and demanded an apology from BJP leaders within the next 48 hours for ‘tarnishing the image of West Bengal’ on a national level.
Addressing the media, Abhishek Banerjee said, “Politics in Bengal has hit a new low. Unable to fight on politics and development, the BJP has resorted to dirty politics.”
“Since Sandeshkhali is under the high court’s preview, we will see if the state government can submit this video in court. Since it is in public domain now, we hope the court takes cognizance and sees how the BJP paid money to set a narrative around the Sandeshkhali violence that was consumed nationally between January till March,” he added.
He also said that the Trinamool will seek legal advice on its next course of action.
The BJP, on the other hand, dismissed the allegations being levelled against its leaders.
Rekha Patra, BJP candidate from Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency and one of the woman who came forward with allegations against TMC functionaries of sexual abuse, reacted by terming the video “fake”.
“There is no truth in that video, it is fake, and this is a conspiracy by TMC. TMC must have threatened him (BJP functionary seen in video) to speak out against the BJP,” she said.
Patra’s name also featured in the unverified video with the BJP functionary claiming that she was among those ‘paid Rs 2,000’ to accuse TMC functionaries of sexual abuse.
BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly whose name also features in the video, told the media that “truth will prevail”.
“Truth can be twisted, and a misleading version can be circulated. However, its shelf life is very very short,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gangadhar Kayl — the BJP mandal president seen in the video — has written to the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asking that the agency lodge a complaint and probe the “morphed” video. ThePrint has seen a copy of the letter.
The claims of sexual abuse by TMC functionaries in Sandeshkhali came to light in January this year when a team of ED officials reached the village in North 24 Parganas district to raid premises linked to TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the alleged ration scam. Members of the ED team were attacked by villagers and sustained injuries.
Following the incident, several women from Sandeshkhali came forward to protest alleged inaction by the state government over atrocities being committed by Shahjahan and other local TMC functionaries. The Calcutta High Court later took cognizance of these allegations and ordered to the CBI to probe the attack on the ED team and claims of sexual abuse.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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