TMC blames BJP for Malda unrest, hits back at Modi’s ‘jungle raj’ charge

Kolkata: The TMC on Sunday accused the BJP of being involved in the unrest in West Bengal's Malda district, where several judicial officers engaged in scrutiny of under-adjudication voters were gheraoed recently, and charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi with peddling falsehood on women's safety issues.

The ruling party's comments came after the PM made the Malda gherao of judicial officers the centrepiece of the BJP’s campaign on alleged lawlessness in the state, claiming that it reflected the TMC’s "maha jungle raj”.

He framed the assembly polls as a battle between the “bhay” (fear) allegedly spread by the ruling TMC and the BJP’s “bharosa” (trust).

TMC MP Kirti Azad, in a statement on X, said, “Modi ji should stop lying…we exposed how your B and C teams were involved in Malda violence. From police observer to AIMIM leader - you deployed your entire machinery to create unrest here, and today you are lecturing." About Modi’s allegations regarding the safety of women in the state, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghosh said, “We don’t need a lecture from a party that is famous for shielding and garlanding rapists.” Senior TMC leader and state education minister Bratya Basu accused the PM of spreading hatred towards the Bengali language.

Rejecting the TMC's allegations, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said the PM had sent out a clear message that after the election results on May 4, all wrongdoers would face action.

“There will be no politics of intimidation, no more anarchy or lawlessness. This time, West Bengal will see justice, rule of law and a secure future,” said Majumdar, also the former state BJP president.

Addressing his first election rally in Bengal's Cooch Behar after the poll schedule was announced, Modi used the Malda incident to sharpen the BJP's twin campaign planks of deteriorating law and order and alleged demographic change.

He also invoked the Sandeshkhali incident, infiltration from Bangladesh, corruption and unemployment to mount a broadside against the Mamata Banerjee government.