BJP says killing of Suvendu Adhikari’s close aide shows law and order collapse in West Bengal

The BJP on Thursday termed the murder of the close aide of its leader Suvendu Adhikari a proof of the complete collapse of law and order in West Bengal ruled by the TMC for 15 years It accused the Mamata Banerjeeled party of fostering lawlessness after losing power in the recently concluded assembly pollsWith the highprofile murder taking place just a couple of days ahead of the swearingin of the first BJP government in the state all parties condemned the incident while the Trinamool Congress rejected the charge and accused the saffron party of attempting to politicise the incidentAdhikaris executive assistant Chandranath Rath was shot dead by bikeborne assailants on Wednesday night barely 48 hours after the Assembly poll results were declared A person closely associated with Adhikari was targeted in a planned manner This shows how lawandorder deteriorated under the Mamata Banerjee government which the people of Bengal have thrown out a BJP leader saidWest Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya alleged that party workers were being targeted even after its victory in the state polls and urged its cadre to maintain restraint While we are the ones who won the election we are also the ones who are dying he said Bhattacharya further alleged that the situation would have been far worse had the Trinamool Congress been in power Had the TMC emerged victorious they would have likely committed over 200 murders by nowAppealing to party workers to remain calm Bhattacharya said the BJP has the responsibility of upholding peace in the stateI appeal to the entire BJP family to put an end to this Regardless of who initiates the violence you must remain calm the people of West Bengal have entrusted us with the responsibility of maintaining peace he saidOn the other hand Adhikari described the gunning down of his close aide as a coldblooded murder and alleged that the killers had carried out a recce before executing the attack in North 24 Parganas districtThe Trinamool Congress dismissed the allegations and accused the BJP of attempting to politicise the incident before an investigation could be taken upThe TMC has nothing to do with this unfortunate incident The police are investigating the case The BJP should refrain from making baseless accusations We are the ones who demanded a CBI probe into the killing a senior Trinamool leader saidThe Congress demanded a transparent probe and criticised both the BJP and the TMC for turning every tragedy into a political battle The focus should remain on arresting the killers and ensuring justice not on scoring political mileage a state Congress leader saidThe CPIM also condemned the killing and expressed concern over the deteriorating political atmosphere in the stateViolence and fear have increasingly become part of Bengals political culture under the TMC rule The administration must act firmly and impartially We condemn the killing and demand strict action against those involved in the crime a senior CPIM leader saidAccording to preliminary investigation motorcycleborne assailants intercepted Raths vehicle near Doltala in Madhyamgram around 1030 pm forced it to stop and opened fire at pointblank range before fleeingMeanwhile newly elected BJP MLA from Kharagpur Dilip Ghosh condemned the killing and said that incidents of violence must be stopped immediatelyThe BJP won the polls but power has not yet come into our hands An attack was carried out on Suvendu Adhikaris personal assistant These incidents of violence must be stopped he said Ghosh urged the police to act firmly against antisocial elements and ensure protection for party workersThe former state BJP chief alleged that internal clashes within the Trinamool Congress were leading to unrest in the state Newly elected BJP MLA from Asansol Agnimitra Paul condemned the killing of Chandranath Rath whom she described as Mr Dependable and always apoliticalActorturnedBJP MLA Rudranil Ghosh said the TMC has once again made bare its true natureThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever