West Bengal LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s West Bengal heavyweight, Suvendu Adhikari, accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of orchestrating an attack on his convoy in the state’s South 24 Parganas district on Sunday, a day after his party’s Lok Sabha member from the state, Raju Bista, also alleged a similar attack in Darjeeling.
Adhikari and Bista allegedly came under attack just as several leaders of the BJP had recently faced protests in the party’s stronghold in North Bengal, following the recent landslides and floods in the region.
The Trinamool Congress, however, termed such incidents, including the ones alleged by Bista and Adhikari, as expressions of anger of people of West Bengal against the BJP for the denial of the fund for implementation of the central government’s schemes in the state.
“In South 24 Parganas district, today, I faced repeated attacks from illegal Bangladeshi Muslims. The obstruction, vandalism and chaos were orchestrated by none other than TMC Zila Parishad Member Rekha Gazi with the aid and support of SP (Superintendent of Police) Koteswara Rao,” Adhikari alleged on X.
“Several attempts were made to stop my car, at least at seven locations, and an attack took place right in front of Lalpur Madrasa.”
He wrote that the alleged attack had taken place when he had been on his way to attend, not a political event, but the Kali Puja and the Deepavali festivals “as a Hindu”.
“Can't a Hindu participate in any religious event in the State of West Bengal freely, without facing obstructions from the radicals? They can't intimidate me. I will be back during Jagadhatri Puja (another religious festival later this month) as well,” Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, said.
Adhikari is the frontrunner for the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in the 2026 assembly elections next year. He has been the most vocal among the BJP leaders of the state in accusing the TMC government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of pursuing a policy of appeasement of the Muslims and in calling upon the Hindus of the state to unite to vote out her party from power.
He and the other BJP leaders have also been accusing the ruling party of facilitating illegal migration from neighbouring Bangladesh.
“This region (where the alleged attack took place) is adjacent to Bangladesh, and the proximity has allowed them to settle down here with the help of the infiltrator-friendly TMC ecosystem,” Adhikari wrote on X.
A video circulated online showed people lining up on both sides of the road shouting slogans against Adhikari and the BJP when his convoy was passing through the area.
The local police officials said that the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly had faced protest demonstrations in some places, but the local cops ensured that he could visit all the places he wanted to.
"In Masdhura, near Sukhia Pokhari today (Saturday), my convoy was attacked by unknown miscreants. Though those cowards had attacked me, the force of the attack fell on the vehicle immediately behind mine,” Raju Bista, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Darjeeling, said, adding: The timing of the attack, following the announcement of an interlocutor for our region, is highly suspicious and points to a conspiracy to disturb peace in our region.”
“If those who are loyal to Kolkata think that we will be fazed due to such attacks, they are wrong. We are not scared, and such cowardly attacks only embolden our spirits,” the TMC leader Jay Prakash Majumdar said. “These poor people have been pushed to the brink because of the deprivation of funds by the BJP-led government at the Centre.”
"They (BJP leaders) should be careful. People across Bengal, in every village, market, and street, are angry. Bengal knows how to protest, and BJP leaders will have to face such demonstrations everywhere," he added.