Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 3 (ANI): West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya on Thursday hit back at Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee over his allegations of attacks on party offices, saying that if the BJP were involved in "vendetta politics", defeated TMC leaders would not have remained "unscathed".
Reacting to Banerjee's allegations, Bhattacharya said it should be viewed in the context of internal differences within the TMC.
"If the BJP were engaging in vendetta politics, then after the election results were declared, none of the defeated Trinamool Congress MLAs, ministers, and MPs would have remained unscathed," Bhattacharya said.
He further alleged that internal disputes within the TMC had led to members targeting each other.
"Trinamool members are throwing eggs at each other and vandalising each other's offices. Those who faced injustice at the hands of Abhishek Banerjee, when he was a top party leader, understand the situation," the BJP leader said.
His remarks came after TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused BJP workers of allegedly storming and vandalising the party's Camac Street office in Kolkata in the early hours of Thursday.
Banerjee alleged that Kolkata Police failed to respond for nearly two hours despite repeated calls and emails from party workers and lawyers.
He described the incident as an "open defiance of the rule of law" and demanded the arrest of those responsible.
"BJP's 'Good Governance'. Double Engine style. Vandalism. Violence. Lawlessness. Both my offices (Amtala and Camac Street) have been vandalised and ransacked in the last one month," Banerjee said in a post on X.
He also alleged that the police and BJP workers "seem to fear neither the law nor the judiciary" and questioned whether the judiciary would intervene to uphold constitutional rights.
The TMC has meanwhile written to President Droupadi Murmu and West Bengal Governor RN Ravi seeking urgent appointments for a party delegation to discuss what it described as the "disturbing and systematic misuse" of police and the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien said the letters were sent on Thursday morning and sought separate meetings with the President in Delhi and the Governor in Kolkata.
The TMC alleged that party workers were being targeted and offices vandalised across the state. O'Brien also accused the police of acting with political bias.
The developments come days after West Bengal Police registered an FIR against Banerjee, O'Brien and others over alleged obstruction and assault of police personnel during the removal of an allegedly unauthorised hoarding at 9, Camac Street. (ANI)
"If BJP engaged in vendetta politics, defeated TMC leaders wouldn't have remained unscathed": Samik Bhattacharya slams Abhishek Banerjee
