Bangasena cadets at the meeting. Picture by Biplab Basak

Jalpaiguri, Nov. 24: Echoing Bal Thackeray, the Bangasena today said it was forming “suicide squads” to strengthen the war against jihad and announced that it would launch its struggle for independence with an assault on the Bongaon border on February 18 next year.

“Senapradhan” Kalidas Baidya made the declaration at a public meeting in Vivekananda Palli, on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri.

The Bangasena was formed on March 25, 1982, to form a homeland for Bengali Hindus hailing from erstwhile East Bengal. This is the first time that it has announced a strike.

“Our Bangasenas will try to enter Bangladesh territory through the border. It will be just the beginning of our retaliation,” Baidya said.

Cadets of the outfit, from all over the state and other parts of the country, will start assembling at Bongaon from the second week of February. The organisation will also hold a public rally on the Bongaon border. “Also, this would be the initiation of the struggle to end Islamic jihad,” Baidya added.

Speaker after speaker at today’s meeting lashed out at the Bangladesh government headed by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. They demanded that the government in Dhaka hand over six districts of that country to the Bengali Hindus so they can form an independent country, “Bangabhumi”.

Ratan Debnath, a leader of the organisation hailing from Guma in North 24 Parganas, attacked the Bangladesh government and “warned of the ensuing battle”.

Debnath disclosed that the organisation was training its cadets for the battle. “We are calling all youths between 18 and 30 years of age to join the organisation and take part in the war,” he said.

“Like other such organisations in the world engaged in a freedom struggle for their homeland, we are also creating suicide squads which would help us achieve our goal.”

Debnath said the Bangasena is conducting training camps in different parts of India and Bangladesh. “Our cadets are being trained in the art of waging a war. They are learning those strategies and skills,” he added, but refused to divulge details.

The outfit also has cadets and branches in Bangladesh. “Earlier, we used to work openly in that country as we do here. But we went underground after some our members were arrested,” Debnath said.

About 300 cadets from all over the state took part in today’s rally. “We have waited and prepared for 20 long years. It is time to retaliate now to achieve our goal,” Baidya said.

“Our secret cell is also working for the success of the mission. We are getting ready to send them in the battle,” the septuagenarian leader added.

Describing the Indo-Bangla border as a “fake frontier”, the leaders raised anti-Bangladesh slogans and criticised the state and the Central governments for not granting citizenship to those who have infiltrated into India from that country.

The organisation demanded that each infiltrator should be provided with a sum of Rs 2,000 per month for his living and they should be considered as refugees and not infiltrators.

Police had beefed up security to maintain law and order. Jalpaiguri superintendent of police Siddh Nath Gupta said: “They are going for a peaceful meeting. We have deployed police personnel there and are also keeping watch on the meeting.”