TMC has zero tolerance towards wrongdoers: Abhishek on Sandeshkhali

Amid criticism faced by the TMC over alleged atrocities on villagers in Sandeshkhali in West Bengals North 24 Parganas district, its leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said the party has never supported anyone involved in wrongdoing.Addressing a rally in Basirhat within the vicinity of the trouble-torn zone, Banerjee stressed that the TMC doesnt shield any leader involved in misconduct, citing examples of Shajahan Sheikh and Saradha group chairman Sudipto Sen, both arrested by the state police.Much has been said about Sandeshkhali.

Amid criticism faced by the TMC over alleged atrocities on villagers in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, its leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said the party has never supported anyone involved in wrongdoing.

Addressing a rally in Basirhat within the vicinity of the trouble-torn zone, Banerjee stressed that the TMC doesn't shield any leader involved in misconduct, citing examples of Shajahan Sheikh and Saradha group chairman Sudipto Sen, both arrested by the state police.

''Much has been said about Sandeshkhali. No Trinamool leader or panchayat representatives will be spared if they misbehave with anyone. Shajahan Sheikh was first arrested by the state police and not by ED or CBI. State police officials had also arrested Sarada scam-accused Sudipto Sen,'' he said.

''We have zero tolerance towards any wrongdoer. We have taken action against our leaders Partha Chatterjee and Jyoti Priya Mallick. The opposition did politics over the Sandeshkhali incident,'' the TMC national general secretary said.

This was the first rally by any senior TMC leader in the Basirhat area since the flare-up in Sandeshkhali last month.

In a jab at the BJP, Banerjee criticised the saffron party's apparent concern for women's issues.

''The BJP is lecturing today on 'Nari Shakti'. They are shedding tears here. Have they taken any action against those BJP leaders who have been accused of harassing women wrestlers? The answer is no,'' he said.

''The BJP couldn't take action against their leaders accused of assaulting and abusing women, but we have removed leaders like Uttam Sardar and Shajahan Sheikh from the party,'' he said.

This is the ''difference between Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the BJP'', the Diamond Harbour MP said.

''The BJP's goal is not the safety of women but to mislead people and make attempts to weaken the TMC's organisational power. Ever since Shahjahan Sheikh was put behind bars, no opposition leaders visited Sandeshkhali. This means that the objective was Shahjahan's arrest,'' Abhishek Banerjee said.

The TMC MP also criticised the BJP over the implementation of the CAA.

''The saffron camp is asking us to show documents in the name of the Citizenship Amendment Act. However, I had challenged them to produce a white paper to give an account of the funds released to Bengal after they lost the 2021 assembly elections. They are yet to release it,'' he said.

Banerjee said Union Home Minister Amit Shah should give a guarantee that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be brought after the implementation of the CAA.

''During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Amit Shah had said that the NRC will be implemented. We have seen how lakhs of Hindu Bengalis were rendered homeless after the Assam NRC. Amit Shah should give a guarantee saying that there will be no NRC. We believe they will do NRC after the CAA, but as long as Mamata Banerjee is in Bengal, we will not allow NRC. This is our commitment to the people. Our guarantee is of harmony and not division,'' he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)