TMC, Left and BJP united in condemning threat to West Bengal CM

Kolkata: BJP youth wing leader Yogesh Varshney’s fatwa of Rs 11 lakh bounty to anyone who beheads West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee evoked condemnation from all political parties in the state.

Trinamul Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee hinted at criminal action against Mr Varshney, and said that he had talked to the DG of West Bengal police and action, according to the law, would be taken.

Issuing  a statement on behalf of the party, Mr Chatterjee said, “There have been many attempts on Mamata Banerjee’s life since the 1990s.”

“We have seen the violent politics of the 70s, we have been through 34 years of CPI-M’s violent rule. Anyone can make big statements sitting in Delhi,” he said.

“Statements like these are against the political culture of the country. I ask the Centre to immediately arrest this man. Lakhs of Trinamul workers are ready to sacrifice their lives for Mamata Banerjee. We do not want the politics of 70s to return,” he said.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Md Salim termed this as a dangerous culture developing in politics.

“The worst part is that there is no action taken against these people. The Union home minister should be asked to file an FIR against the offender,” the CPI-M leader said.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh termed Mr Varshney as a young boy who had made such a statement.

“The party has never endorsed such comments. We here in Bengal are enough to deal with the terror that the state TMC has unleashed,” he said.

Referring to the statement as shameful, Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury said, “One can have political difference with Mamata but attempt to kill or even issuing such statements is never acceptable.” BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the party in-charge in West Bengal said he condemns such statements which propagate violence.

“We do not agree with such remarks. There is anger against Mamataji for her appeasement politics, but (we) cannot support violence.”