The Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to send its central leaders to West Bengal on September 26 to make the state-wide bandh called by it a grand success. The saffron party called the bandh to protest the death of two students of a local technical college in an alleged police firing at Islampur in North Dinajpur district.
A senior leader and one of the vice presidents of the party's West Bengal unit told THE WEEK, "Yes, many senior leaders would be coming to Bengal on September 26 and would be fanned out all over the state. We will ensure that the bandh is successful."
What made the BJP further aggressive was the arrest of its North Dinajpur district president, Shankar Chakraborty, for allegedly giving a provocative speech near the premises of Daribhit school of Islampur.
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Chakraborty reportedly said, "Tie the policemen to trees and beat them up."
The slain youths—Tapas Barman and Rajesh Sarkar—were the alumni of the Daribhit school where several key posts of teachers were lying vacant for quite some time, leading to protests from villagers. Last week, the school recruited an Urdu teacher instead of teachers for Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Bengali. When the students objected, the school authorities also appointed a Sanskrit teacher.
The former students and villagers held a massive demonstration in the school premises, leading to clashes between police and locals. Tapas and Rajesh died as police allegedly opened fire at the protesters. The police, however, said they did not open fire.
Dilip Ghosh, BJP's West Bengal president, said the ruling Trinamool Congress would be taught a lesson on September 26.
"They would understand what kind of bandh is called on that day. If they try to use force, there would be revolt. Even innocent youths are being killed by blood suckers. When we protested, police were trying to put us in jail," said Ghosh.
BJP's two state prabharis, Kailash Vijayavargava and Shiv Prakash, and many other central leaders, would come to Kolkata and head to many other districts on September 26.
The state government has opposed the bandh and issued a set of “dos and don'ts” for government employees and public transport system. A Trinamool Congress MP moved Calcutta High Court on Monday, seeking an order against the bandh.
Even as the court is set to hear the plea, the threats and counter threats by political opponents have already created a vitiated atmosphere in the state.