Trinamool on the offensive after supporters target ED, CRPF officers

Amid the furore over the assault on ED officials and their CRPF escorts in West Bengal on Friday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that those questioning West Bengal’s law and order situation were trying to malign the State, even as her close associate and State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya filed an FIR against BJP leader Amit Malviya for his post on X.

In his post, the BJP national IT head had claimed that the absconding Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, the main accused in the assault case on the Enforcement Directorate sleuths, had escaped law enforcement agencies because of “the patronage of Mamata Banerjee”.

“Shahjahan, who claimed to be a don of Sandeshkhali, is absconding. This would not have been possible without the patronage of Mamata Banerjee, who is also the Home Minister of West Bengal,” read Malviya’s post on X, to which the Trinamool Congress took umbrage.

“We have filed a complaint and urged the police to take immediate action against Malviya for his defamatory remarks against our Chief Minister. Mamata Banerjee is revered by people not only in Bengal but across the country,” Bhattacharya, told reporters.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal BJP criticised the Trinamool Congress for trying to “use the police to silence the truth”.

“Whatever Amit Malviya has said is completely true. It is the Trinamool Government which has been shielding the criminals, and this tendency has led to lawlessness in the State,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha said.

On Monday, in an attempt to dilute the issue of mob attacks on the ED, Mamata Banerjee asserted that Calcutta has been adjudged the country’s safest city for years as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

“I am not bothered about criticisms against me. But, I will protest if anyone tries to malign the State. Those questioning the law and order situation are trying to malign the State,” she said without referring to any particular incident.

“So many rumours are spread throughout the day. If there is one isolated incident in the morning, it is dissected and discussed all day long, while positive news receives little attention. If Bengal is portrayed negatively, I will not accept it without a fight,” the CM said addressing the “Students’ Week” programme here, without explicitly referring to any specific incident.

Critiquing some TV talk shows, she remarked, “They (these channels) are interested in spreading negative information. I once asked one of them why they continuously show one incident for 24 hours, and the reply was ‘Didi, this is for TRP’. We have to keep the fire burning all day long.”

She also said she wondered how the law and order situation could be as bad as depicted by these groups, given that the Srirampur police station in Hooghly district was recognized as a model police station in the country by the Central Government itself for its track record in addressing public grievances and cases.