Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday targeted the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over the recent developments at Sandeshkhali, where a TMC leader and his supporters have been accused of sexually abusing women, attacking Enforcement Directorate officials, and grabbing land in the area. Mr. Modi asked why the leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc — which the TMC is a member of — were silent on the issue.
“I am surprised at the leaders of the INDIA alliance. All the big leaders of the INDIA alliance have closed their eyes, mouth, and ears on Sandeshkhali like the three monkeys of Gandhiji. They held meetings together at Patna, Bengaluru, and Mumbai but the leaders of the Left and the Congress sought no answers from the Chief Minister and the government [on Sandeshkhali]. They did not even spare a sight for the women at Sandeshkhali,” Mr. Modi said, while addressing a public meeting at Arambagh in the Hooghly district.
The Prime Minister also accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of allegedly saying that ‘such things happen in Bengal’ in reference to Sandeshkhali. Participating in a recent discussion on a private television channel, the Congress chief had in fact condemned the atrocities on women at Sandeshkhali; however, asked about State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s remarks about ‘jungle raj’ in the State, Mr. Kharge said that such things happen in West Bengal when the Left and Congress leaders target the Trinamool Congress.
