Sandeshkhali video heats up Bengal electoral battle

A video shot using a spycam that purportedly showed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker claiming that party leader Suvendu Adhikari had hatched the “Sandeshkhali conspiracy” has raised political tensions in the already restive region in southern West Bengal, with chief minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the party of “orchestrating the incidents” in the village and “trying to malign” the state’s image.
The BJP, however, insisted the video was doctored and said it would have no impact on the Lok Sabha elections in the crucial eastern state.
On Sunday, Banerjee spent a bulk of a 50-minute campaign address at the Bolpur Lok Sabha segment in Birbhum district, directly attacking the Prime Minister. “I have said for a long time that the BJP has been trying to malign the image of Bengal by orchestrating the Sandeshkhali incident. The sting operation revealed the real face of the ‘Bangla birodhis’ (opponents of Bengal) as they tried to manipulate the emotions of my mothers and sisters,” she said.
She accused the BJP of using money “to spread mistruth”.
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“Did you ever realise that they cooked up the narrative? Did you realise even once how money was spent to frame the charges. The BJP should remember that money can be earned back once spent, but once a mother’s self-respect is lost, it can never be regained. Do not disrespect the mothers of Bengal; do not insult them. I am warning you,” said the Trinamool Congress chief.
The 32-minute video, which the TMC released on Saturday, showed a man, who claimed to be Gangadhar Koyal, a BJP mandal president in Sandeshkhali-II, was purportedly heard saying that leader of the opposition in the state assembly “Suvendu Adhikari is behind the whole conspiracy”.
“We got it done as per instructions of Suvendu da. He told us that if we can’t get the (TMC’s) strongmen arrested, we won’t be able to put up a fight,” the man claimed in the video, while speaking with two unidentified men.
ALSO READ | TMC’s sting video claims BJP paid Sandeshkhali women to frame leaders
HT couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the video.
Violent protests erupted at Sandeshkhali earlier this year, with several women in the area demanding the arrest of local TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides over allegations of sexual assault and illegal land grabbing.
Shahjahan was arrested by the state police on February 29 and handed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the orders of the Calcutta high court. Shahjahan is also being investigated by CBI over his alleged role in the attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in Sandeshkhali on January 5.
The BJP has since made the Sandeshkhali issue a key poll plank against the TMC during the ongoing elections. Top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, have attacked the TMC in various poll rallies over the Sandeshkhali unrest.
On Sunday, Banerjee stressed that the TMC would act against those guilty of corruption in disbursement of welfare scheme funds that are partly funded by the Centre, “If some people, including those from the TMC, committed any wrong, the party and the state government have always been quick to take disciplinary action against them, no matter how powerful they are,” she asserted.
Speaking at a public rally at Kaliganj in Nadia district in support of the TMC’s Krishnanagar candidate Mahua Moitra, senior party leader Abhishek Banerjee also accused the BJP of trying to demean the state.
“It has been amply proved that the BJP is making tireless efforts to tarnish the image of West Bengal,” he said.
Dismissing the video clip, Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly, said Kayal’s voice in the video was “artificially generated.”
“He is upset for being falsely implicated. The BJP leadership and the people of the area are with him. They can see through the TMC’s game,” Adhikari said.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar pointed to the complaints against Shahjahan. “Being in the dock following the outrage over Sandeshkhali, the desperate TMC has engineered this video. It refers to three women. But what about around 600 complaints filed?”