Mamata’s Delhi visit aimed at diverting attention from Bengal post-poll violence: BJP

The BJP on Tuesday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, claiming that her ongoing New Delhi visit is a “tactic” to divert attention from the incidents of post-poll violence flagged in the report of an NHRC enquiry committee.

Banerjee is presently in the national capital on a five-day visit from Monday evening. On Tuesday, she met several front-ranking Congress leaders such as Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma.

In the evening, she also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence and discussed various issues related to the state.

“Mamata Banerjee’s visit to New Delhi is aimed at diverting attention from her failure to control the law and order situation in the state. Her Delhi visit is just a diversionary tactic from the issue of post-poll violence flagged in the NHRC report,'' West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.

In its report submitted to the Calcutta High Court, the NHRC panel criticised the Mamata Banerjee government saying “the situation in the state is a manifestation of law of ruler instead of rule of law'' The Trinamool Congress government has alleged in an affidavit filed before the high court that the NHRC committee which probed incidents of post-poll violence in the state “was fraught with bias against the ruling dispensation”.

The affidavit, submitted to the court on Monday, also claimed that members of the panel share close ties with BJP leaders.

Referring to the TMC supremo's call for opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Ghosh claimed that Banerjee and her team are “daydreaming”. “They will have to face a rude shock after 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The TMC should have learnt a lesson or two from its 2019 performance when its tally dropped from 34 to 22,” he added.

Banerjee is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday. Reacting to Ghosh’s comment, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed that the saffron party is getting nervous with her efforts to cobble together a front of anti-BJP parties.

“Such statements only reflect their nervousness. No one can deny the fact that Mamata Banerjee has emerged as the nucleus of opposition unity after her assembly poll victory,” he said.