Trinamul demands arrest of BJP MP, BJP plays Rajbanshi card in Cooch Behar

The Trinamul Congress held a demonstration in front of Dinhata police station in Cooch Behar district on Friday, demanding the immediate arrest of local BJP MP and Union minister of state for home Nisith Pramanik.

The demonstration was organised a day after Calcutta High Court’s circuit bench in Jalpaiguri refused to grant anticipatory bail to Pramanik. He had filed a petition for bail as an arrest warrant is pending against him in connection with an attempt-to-murder case in 2018.

Following the demonstration, the BJP played the Rajbanshi card and mounted an attack on Trinamul for targeting a leader from the community.

Around 12pm, Trinamul leaders and supporters took out a procession in Dinhata and reached the police station’s entrance. They were carrying placards in support of the demand for the Cooch Behar MP’s arrest and launched a dharna.

“We fail to understand why the police are not arresting Nisith Pramanik. If they do not take appropriate action against him, we will intensify our movement,” north Bengal development minister Udayan Guha said while addressing the agitators.

Nisith Pramanik.File picture

The demonstration continued till 2pm, after which a delegation led by Avijit De Bhowmik, the district Trinamul president, submitted a memorandum to the police.

Trinamul’s protest, however, led to questions within the party.

“Being the ruling party of Bengal, how can we stage a protest against the state police? Instead, the leaders should have drawn up political programmes to apprise people of the criminal cases pending against the MP. It would have been more effective in drawing support from the people,” said a Trinamul leader.

Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the party’s promotion of a Rajbanshi youth hadn’t gone down well with Trinamul and that was why the demonstration had been organised.

“Nisith Pramanik is a Rajbanshi youth. We have made him an MP with peoples’ support and he is a Union minister of state now. We have also sent Ananta Maharaj, another prominent face of the community, to Rajya Sabha as an MP. These seem to have irked a section of Trinamul leaders. As these leaders couldn’t accept it, they are after Nisith now and raising baseless charges,” said Majumdar, who was in Cooch Behar on Friday.

Rajbanshis constitute close to half of the population in Cooch Behar district.

Later in the day, there was tension at Jhuripara, a residential area in ward 15 of Dinhata town. Trinamul workers held a protest march when they learnt that Majumdar would visit the residence of BJP worker Ishwar Debnath.

BJP supporters, on the other hand, assembled at the house of Debnath. Around seven days ago, he had alleged that Trinamul supporters had vandalised his house. Trinamul had denied the charge.

When Majumdar started for Jhuripara from Cooch Behar around 4.30pm, police stopped him at a crossing in the town.

The BJP state president, along with party MLAs and district leaders, resorted to a road blockade.

“Police officers told us that they couldn’t give us protection if we visited Dinhata. That is why we have been stopped here. This is utterly disappointing,” he said.

The blockade continued for around an hour, after which the BJP leaders left the spot.

The police said they had information that Majumdar’s visit could trigger political tension.

“That is why he was stopped. We want the law and order to be under control,” said a police officer.

Bangla national nabbed

Siliguri: Rakib Rari, a 26-year-old from Barisal district of Bangladesh, was nabbed by the BSF on Thursday evening as he tried to infiltrate India.

Troops of the sixth battalion of the central security force posted at Amar border outpost on the Bangladesh border in Cooch Behar intercepted him. During preliminary interrogation, Rakib said he had plans to go to Nepal via India in search of a job, said BSF sources.

Later, he was handed over to Kuchlibari police.

The BSF also carried out anti-smuggling drives in different areas under the north Bengal frontier from January 3 to January 5 and seized a number of things, including cattle. The cost of the seized items is around Rs seven lakh, said sources.