By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain, TwoCircles.net
While the BJP is leaving no stone unturned for getting a foothold in West Bengal with its reported anti minority stand, leaders of ruling Trinamool Congress have also picked up the same line of targeting minority community.
The involvement of TMC leaders in such activity has emboldened the BJP which is gaining ground in the state.
Recent incidents of rioting in Dhularagh, Burdwan-Khagragarh, Baduria-Basirhat has come handy with BJP harping on these issues. The National Herald’s spill of rioting and communalising the air of Bengal also attests to this fact.
However, the ruling TMC cadre too has resorted to actions of targeting minorities in the state. This in a way has come as a boon for the BJP. TMC leaders resort to such tactics for settling their scores: sometimes, for not getting candidature for MLA and even for the sheer hatred towards the Muslim community by removing Muslim post holders from the various positions.
The case of Basanti block in South 24 Parganas, which is 27 km from the Sunderbans and 75 km from Kolkata is a testimony of saffronisation of TMC leaders which has 44.87% Muslim population The block was under the left party till 2011 when it was replaced by an alliance of the Congress and the TMC.
With an aggressive BJP in state in 2016, one Jayanta Naskar was elected as TMC MLA in adjoining Gosaba block. Local reports suggest that one of his brothers, Pradyut Naskar, is a BJP worker and has good relation with the state BJP Cell.
After Trinamool got a foothold at the Panchayat vote independently in 2013, Jayanta Naskar was given control of this block. The first thing he did was the removal of Muslim leaders from various posts, starting from Village Party members to Block Party Chairman. For example, he removed Abdul Mannan, a Head Master by profession, from the post of Block Party Chairman, Abdul Majid Molla from the Deputy Block Chairman. Interestingly, Abdul Mannan was the pioneering figure in launching Trinamool Party in Basanti block in 1995.
He not only removed Muslims but also Hindus who had good liaison with Abdul Momen or Abdul Majid or other Muslim local leaders were shown the door like Khagen Gharami, who was removed from the post of the Executive head, Basanti Panchayat Samiti, Food Department. “Abdul Mannan is such a talented, educated, righteous ideal person that the saffronised dirty politics within the same party could not tolerate him. He always mentioned a harmonious relationship with all sorts of party workers. But his religious faith might be the reason behind his removal.”
Khagen Gharami said. Though they informed the higher district authority as well as the M.P. Pratima Mondal about the saffronisation of the Trinamool party under the leadership of Jayanta Naskar, it did not bear any fruit to them. In this regard, Gharami lamented for the inactiveness of the Trinamool Party’s higher authority. He said, “ In spite of informing the district as well as State Trinamool party authority about the saffronisation of the Trinamool party and therefore the degrading state of the party in the local level no one interfered into this cause.
“When they saw my involvement with my fellow Muslim party workers, they asked me resign me from my post and said my failure to do so would put the lives of me and my entire family in danger. My wife has been bedridden for quite some time, and hence I had no choice. I was forced to resign. But later on, Jayanta called me to ask which post I would like to take in his leadership, which I refused,” he added.
Not stopping at this, Jayanta grouped all Hindus to set up a Hindu locality run by Hindus with Hindu people.
The recent communal tension in the locality for the last two years, more particularly for the last two months, blossomed under the leadership of Jayanta Naskar. This was done as retaliation after 2016 Election in Bengal when one of Jayanta’s brothers, Arabinda Naskar, was rejected as the candidate for M.L.A in Basanti Block in 2016.
Many communal incidents took place during the last two years by his followers and the recent attack on September 28 in a Muslim-majority village, Sarberia, is the latest one where two innocent Muslims were killed.
Later on, when the news of group conflicts brought into headlines for communal tension, Basanti was taken away from Jayanta after Saokat Molla’s intervention, the District Youth Trinamool Congress President. The block is now said to be relatively peaceful. The block is now under the leadership of Amanaullah Laskar.
When this reporter contacted Jayanta Naskar, the M.L.A from Gosaba block, he refused to answer. He said, “I can’t say anything regarding Basanti block. It is not under my leadership now. I will not say anything.”
But the sidelined leaders blamed him for their removal from their various posts. Abdul Majid Molla said, “The M.L.A of Gosaba took me to High Court and removed me from the post of Deputy Chairman of Basanti block with false allegations. Till now, he is trying his best to terrorize our locality and attacking Muslim dominated villages.”
Another active Trinamool worker sounded the same. Pradeep Bera from Basanti block said, “ Jayanta Naskar is doing all these riotings. He has been wiped out from the land of Basanti under the leadership of Amanaullah Laskar and Saokat Molla. The local people were terrorized by his torture and after the massive protests, 90% of local people have aligned to Amanaullah. He is doing Trinamool under the shed of Hindutva ideology.”
It is high time TMC leadership wakes up from slumber to end this saffronisation of their party with a firm hand.