BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday addressed a public meeting in Najat of Sandeshkhali where he sought to polarise the electorate.
Adhikari accused the Mamata Banerjee government of systemic persecution of Hindus and warned of dire consequences if Hindus "fail to unite".
"In 2026, there will be a BJP-led government in Bengal,” he said. “But before that, all Hindus must come together. Be sure that the perpetrators of Sandeshkhali will be punished before it," the Nandigram MLA and leader of the Opposition said.
Adhikari alleged that atrocities against Hindus were rising under the TMC regime, fuelled by what he called the state administration's partisan attitude. “The Mamata Banerjee government follows a discriminatory policy against Hindus,” he said. “Out of the 180 communities the government wants to include in the OBC category, 119 are Muslim. Is this not clear religious bias?” Adhikari alleged.
Adhikari recalled a bloody political clash in Sandeshkhali on June 8, 2019, the anniversary of which his Sunday rally commemorated. On that day, a TMC workers’ meeting at a primary school in Bhangipara spiralled into a gunfight between Trinamool and BJP supporters.
According to Adhikari, Trinamool-backed goons assaulted BJP supporters Pradeep Mandal, Sukanta Mandal and Debdas Mandal following the clash. While Qayyum Mollah, a Trinamool worker, was killed in the violence — allegedly in retaliatory fire by BJP supporters — BJP workers Pradeep and Sukanta were gunned down on the spot by assailants. Debdas has been missing since then.
“Debdas was never seen again,” Adhikari said. “His family filed a complaint at Najat police station naming several TMC leaders, including Sheikh Shahjahan. But Shahjahan’s name was mysteriously dropped from the FIR. We approached the Calcutta High Court, which reinstated his name. Yet, even after five years, Devdas’ family is still searching for answers — they want their son back, dead or alive.”
Shahjahan is now in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody. Devdas’s family has demanded a CBI probe.
“The Mamata police dropped the accused from murder and kidnapping charges. I took this case to Calcutta High Court and got it reopened,” Adhikari claimed. “When the high court opens on Monday, the word of justice will be heard.”
He claimed “Hindu oppression in Bangladesh” was “mirrored” in Bengal.