BJP demands ouster of TMC govt after MLA’s death

Last updated on February 14th, 2023 at 12:40 pm

A party delegation from West Bengal met with the President two days after one of its MLAs was found dead in suspicious circumstances.

Two days after the unnatural death of BJP MLA Debendra Nath Ray in Bindal village in North Dinajpur district, a delegation from the state unit met President Ram Nath Kovind asking for a CBI probe and the dismissal of the TMC government.

The delegation was headed by the general secretary of the state unit Kailash Vijayvargiya and included MP Raju Bista and nominated Rajya Sabha MP, Swapan Dasgupta. They claimed that the “murder” was just another in a series of “political killings” in the state and that 105 people associated with the party have been killed in the past three years.

Ray’s body was found hanging near a shop one kilometre from his home on Monday. His hands were reportedly tied. A forensic team reached the spot and his body was sent for post-mortem. The police have termed this an unnatural death and began investigations. His family said he had been forcibly taken from his home in the early hours of that day by men on bikes. They have demanded a CBI inquiry into his death.

The 65-year-old had won from Hemtabad (reserved) constituency on a CPI(M) ticket in 2016 but he later switched to the BJP. He was still part of the assembly, however, and was a sitting MLA.

Speaking to the press later the delegation said that anarchy prevailed in the state and the assembly deserved to be dissolved. Democracy has been hanged in West Bengal, Vijayvargiya told reporters. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was using police and other state agency to harass political rivals, he said. BJP president J P Nadda had earlier tweeted that the “suspected heinous killing” exposed the “gunda raj and failure of law and order” under the TMC government. Even West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankar chimed in saying the “prejudiced” police should not be able to spin this death as a suicide, indicating his lack of trust in the police, which is under the direct control of the Chief Minister. TMC leaders in the area have denied any involvement with the incident and have asked for investigation to be allowed to take its course.

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