WB BJP chief Dilip Ghosh stokes controversy with call for 'revenge' against TMC

The BJP's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh has called for "revenge" against the Trinamool Congress after his party comes to power in the state, stoking a major political controversy.

In a snide reference to Mamata Banerjee's 2011 slogan of 'Bodla Noy, Bodol Chai' (change, not revenge), Ghosh recently shared a poster on his Facebook page that had a picture of him along with a slogan -- 'Bodlao Hobey, Bodolo Hobey', meaning that there will be change as well as revenge.

The slogan, with which Mamata Banerjee swept the state in the 2011 Assembly election and ousted the CPI(M)-led government, called for change without revenge as people feared that a change in regime after 34 years may lead to widespread political violence.

"The TMC came to power by saying no revenge, but in the last nine years, what they did was only pursuing vendetta politics against the opposition. More than 100 of our party workers were killed in the last few years. When we are voted to power we will take revenge against these anti-socials and corrupt officials, otherwise, people will not forgive us. We believe in paying back in the same coin," Ghosh said justifying his social media post.

Hitting out at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress said that such comments prove the "mentality" of the party.

"Only goons and BJP speak the language of revenge and violence. It's for the people of West Bengal to judge. The TMC doesn't believe in the politics of violence," the party's Secretary-General Partha Chatterjee said.

The BJP's state unit also seemed divided over Ghosh's comments as a section of party leaders feel such remarks would hurt their chances in the 2021 assembly polls.

Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy said violence would never be the path for the party as it believes in the politics of peace and development.

Ghosh has often courted controversy for his sneering comments.