A group of BJP workers on Friday attacked the Bengal Congress headquarters, set fire to posters and smeared pictures of Congress leaders with blank ink to protest against the alleged abusive language directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother during Rahul Gandhi’s recent “Vote Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar’s Darbhanga.
“This attack proves that the BJP is afraid of Rahul Gandhi’s movement. As it was exposed that the BJP had won earlier elections by stealing votes, BJP leaders are now sending goons to vandalise our office. We condemn this uncivilised act and demand the immediate arrest of BJP leader Rakesh Singh, who led the violence,” said Subhankar Sarkar, Bengal Congress president.
Sarkar said Congress workers would stage protests across all districts of Bengal against what he described as a “barbaric attack”.
According to sources, BJP leader Rakesh Singh led a group of party workers to Congress headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan, on Friday morning. Before launching the assault, Singh went live on social media, declaring that the action was a warning to Congress workers nationwide.
“We have come here to protest the way the Congress abused Narendra Modi and his late mother. This protest is to send a message: if you repeat such abuses, you will face strong resistance. Now you will see today’s protest,” Singh said in his video message.
Eyewitnesses said BJP workers tore down posters of Rahul, Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, set fire to flex banners, party flags, and smeared black ink on pictures of Rahul and other senior Congress leaders.
Congress state organisation secretary Suman Roy Chowdhury said Singh’s group, in particular, targeted a large flex showing Rahul holding a copy of the Indian Constitution. He added that around 50 Chhatra Parishad activists present inside the office chased away the attackers.
Police said a case had been registered based on an FIR filed by Sarkar with the Entally police station.
A senior officer of Kolkata Police said: “We have initiated a probe based on the FIR, and CCTV footage is being scanned to identify some of those who were present during the act of defacement, lawlessness and hooliganism. Six persons have been detained for questioning, but Rakesh Singh remains at large.”
Several Congress leaders expressed surprise that BJP workers would attack their office in Bengal, a state where the BJP is not in power.
“We want the Mamata Banerjee administration to rise above its ‘setting’ with the BJP and take strict action. No one should dare attack the office of any political party in Bengal,” said Roy Chowdhury.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, while demanding the arrest of Rakesh Singh, said the Congress would continue to hit the streets to protest against the attack on its state headquarters.
In an open letter to BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya, Sarkar wrote: “I know you as a gentleman and a cultured person. I believe that without your consent, Rakesh Singh, an anti-social element belonging to your party, could not have attacked our headquarters wavingBJP flags.”
Bhattacharya said that the state Congress president should write an open letter to Rahul Gandhi, asking him to stop abusing a person like the Prime Minister of the country. He, however, said that the BJP did not endorse any activities where flags of any party were set aflame or its officewas ransacked.
“I welcome the open letter from the Congress state president. I would request him to send a similar letter to his leader, Rahul Gandhi, too. We support protests against the abuse of our leader of the nation, Narendra Modi, but do not support attacks on the office of any political party or setting fire to flags,” Bhattacharya told The Telegraph.
The Trinamool Congress and the CPM condemned the attack on the Congress office.
“This is the BJP’s culture. There may be ideological differences, but such violent attacks are unacceptable,” said Trinamool state general secretary Kunal Ghosh.
CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty said the BJP’s actions echoed Trinamool’s history of attacking rival parties’ offices.
“This attack reflects the BJP’s frustration after failing to convince voters. But it also mirrors how Opposition offices, especially ours, were attacked under Trinamool rule. The police, too, have failed to act decisively,”Chakraborty said.