West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh each for the kin of every political worker killed in the state since Sunday. The BJP has been at the receiving end of such mass violence being allegedly perpetrated by the TMC, whose workers for the past four days have allegedly been on a rampage to hunt down the party’s karyakartas. So far, according to BJP National President JP Nadda, at least 14 party workers have been mercilessly killed in West Bengal. Across the nation, a wave of unprecedented anger and fury has gripped nationalists.
It is perhaps due to the tremendous nationwide outrage that Mamata Banerjee and her party are faced with that the newly sworn-in Chief Minister was forced to announce compensation for the victims of political violence, even though the amount to be given to the families of the slain political party workers is no less than a humiliating joke. According to the TMC – the human life of party workers in Bengal has been pegged at a meagre 2 lakh rupees, and nothing could be more shameful.
Meanwhile, the pressure being exerted by the Ministry of Home Affairs led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah also seems to have played a role in Mamata announcing compensation for the kin of slain political workers – almost all of whom belonged to the BJP. On Monday, the MHA had sought a detailed report on the violence from the West Bengal government and asked it to take necessary steps to ensure such incidents stopped “without any loss of time”.
Subsequently, on Wednesday, failing the receipt of a report by the state government, the MHA issued a warning to the TMC-led regime that failure to submit the report would be “viewed very seriously”. Taking matters into its own hands, the MHA then deputed a four-member team led by an additional secretary-rank officer to tour the violence-hit state and submit a report to the Ministry within 48 hours. “The team will assess the worsening violence situation in Bengal and will submit a report to the Union home ministry,” officials quoted by the Hindustan Times said.
On Thursday, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan’s car was vandalised at Panchkuri village in West Midnapore district while he was visiting the area in connection with the post-poll violence on saffron party workers. Muraleedharan alleged in a tweet that the TMC workers were behind the attack on his convoy. The car windows were smashed and the Minister’s driver even sustained injuries.
Mamata Banerjee’s announcement of compensation for post-poll violence victims comes in the backdrop of her minions like Derek O’Brien and Mahua Moitra wrongly claiming that no violence was taking place in West Bengal and that it was all a figment of the imagination of the BJP’s lackeys.
@BJP fake news factories working overtime on Bengal to distract attention from covid catastrophe & PM’s failures.
GodiMedia lapping it all up.
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 4, 2021
To @BJP’s fake troll army busy disseminating a nationwide fake news campaign on how WB is burning. It is not.
Stop the lies. It cost you Bengal. Will cost you India next.
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 4, 2021
To Delhi-Noida channels.
For too long U have been peddling a narrative commanded by BJP’s MO-SHA. Toxic. Many of us now promise ‘We are going to CALL YOU OUT EVERY SINGLE TIME’ @TimesNow @CNNnews18 @republic @aajtak @ABPNews @ZeeNews @indiatvnews (and sometimes) @indiatoday
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) May 6, 2021
For all the fake bravado, Mamata Banerjee and her party have come to tremble upon seeing the immense nationwide outrage which the mass violence of West Bengal has come to garner. It is unlike for Banerjee to care for slain opposition party workers. That she has announced compensation for them indeed signals that the people of India’s anger and the MHA’s pressure has got the better of her.