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Kolkata, Oct 8 (IANS) The attack on BJP Lok Sabha member from West Bengal, Khagan Murmu, who comes from a tribal background, exemplifies how the tribal population is “simply dispensable” in the politics of selective outrage pursued not only by the Trinamool Congress but also by Bajde on Wednesday.
BJP’s information technology cell chief and party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, issued a social media statement where he questioned the silence of all opposition parties in the country on the attack on two-time Lok Sabha member Murmu in Malda district of West Bengal.
“Those who never miss an opportunity to preach about caste seem conveniently silent when a tribal BJP MP is attacked by a Muslim mob in Bengal. Is it that tribal lives and dignity do not matter to Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi and the Left ecosystem?” Malviya questioned in his social media statement.
The vehicle of Murmu, and the party’s chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly, Shankar Ghosh, was attacked at Bamundanga in Jalpaiguri district on Monday while they were on their way to Nagakata in the same district with relief material for flood-affected people.
While Murmu was seriously injured in that attack, allegedly by Trinamool Congress supporters, Ghosh sustained minor injuries. Both Murmu and Ghosh are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Siliguri in Darjeeling district.
Political observers feel that Malviya had deliberately tagged the Congress and left the parties with the Trinamool Congress, highlighting the issue of attack on Murmu to consolidate voters in favor of the BJP amid the crucial West Bengal Assembly elections next year.
Scheduled Tribes constitute a large proportion of the total voters in some districts in both South Bengal and North Bengal. Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a majority of voters from this community, especially in North Bengal, have shifted in favor of the BJP, which was also evident in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
For a long time, Scheduled Caste voters constituted a strong and dedicated vote-bank for the CPI(M) since 1977, marking the beginning of the 34-year-old Left Front rule in West Bengal.
These voters shifted to the Trinamool Congress in a major way in the 2011 assembly elections—marking the end of 34 years of Left Front rule and the beginning of the Mamata Banerjee-led Left Front rule.
However, since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has started enjoying massive support from Scheduled Caste voters in the state.
In another social media post, Malviya accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of making false claims on Tuesday that the central government was not providing assistance for rescue and rehabilitation efforts after the floods in North Bengal.
“She was lying – as always. The central government is actively coordinating relief operations, providing financial assistance, and deploying teams for rescue and restoration. The West Bengal administration, however, is missing. Instead of playing politics over the suffering of the people, Mamata Banerjee should focus on governance,” he said.
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SRC/DPB