Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik escaped unhurt when his convoy was allegedly attacked by some people at Gosanimari in the Sitai area of Cooch Behar district, the BJP said.
The party claimed that stones were pelted at the minister’s vehicle by Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers when his convoy was travelling from Gosanimari to Sitai. The TMC, however, denied the charge.
Pramanik said, “If they attack me we will not shower flowers on them. If there is an attack on me, there will be repercussions. Also, our workers are like family for me. I have come to meet them who have been attacked by hooligans of the TMC.”
The BJP leader claimed that some party workers were injured in the incident.
Police said there was a minor scuffle between men in the minister’s convoy, and some people who had come to demonstrate with black flags. “It was a minor scuffle between people in the convoy and bystanders carrying black flags, when the cavalcade was passing through the Sitai police station area. During the scuffle, a few motorcycles were damaged. On-duty police
|officers intervened, and the situation was brought under control. We have not arrested anyone,” Cooch Behar SP Sumit Kumar said.
Police said there were 20 vehicles in Pramanik’s convoy and about 200 people on motorcycles were accompanying it.
The scuffle broke out when around five persons tried to wave black flags at Pramanik, the MP of Cooch Behar, they said.
Sources said TMC workers blocked a vehicle moving ahead of Pramanik’s convoy. This led to a fight resulting in stone pelting between BJP and TMC workers.
While the clash continued for sometime, Pramanik’s vehicle was safely escorted out, it was learnt.
BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh said, “There is no law and order in Bengal, especially in Sitai, Sheetalkuchi and Dinhata areas. Anti-socialist elements are running amok there. The TMC is being run by hooligans. The central government will look into this attack.”
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “We don’t know what happened there, so it won’t be right to comment just on news reports. But, I don’t think the TMC is in any way involved in it. It must be due to infighting between the newcomers and old-timers of the BJP,” Ghosh said.
North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha called the incident a fallout of “BJP’s infighting.” “Pramanik said that there will be repercussions if there is an attack on him. This means there was no attack on him. He has sown the seeds of political hooliganism in Cooch Behar and now has to suffer the consequences,” said Guha.
Last week, Guha, a veteran politician from Cooch Behar, had purportedly asked TMC workers to wrench off the moustache and beard of Pramanik after ensuring a massive win for the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
— With PTI INPUTS