Bengal burning

West Bengal is burning following the violence that erupted after the results that saw incumbent chief minister Mamata Banerjee losing her 15-year-old sway in the state. Such riots that undermine the will of the people must be suppressed at all costs.

Chandranath Rath, the personal assistant of opposition leader and BJP chief ministerial candidate Suvendu Adhikari, was shot dead on Wednesday night. He was travelling in a car in Madhyamgram in the North 24 Parganas district when assailants on a bike opened fire. Rath, who was hit by multiple bullets, was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries. Chandranath Rath was Suvendu's most trusted aide. At least four people were reported to have been killed in the violence that broke out after the election results were announced. Violence has spread to small towns and villages, including Kolkata.

The clashes are mainly between Trinamool and BJP workers. In some places, there were incidents of offices of both parties being set on fire. The Trinamool party alleged that the violence spread after BJP workers used a bulldozer to destroy the Trinamool Congress office and a nearby meat shop, and a clothing store in New Market in Kolkata. Meanwhile, the BJP alleged that the Trinamool Congress’s criminals, frustrated by the loss of fifteen years of rule, are running rampage across the state.

Amid the attacks, reports of looting shops are going on a large scale. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has ordered the immediate arrest of those responsible for the post-election violence in West Bengal. The order also states that continuous patrolling should be carried out in areas prone to conflict.

Instead of accepting the mandate of the people and peacefully vacating power, Mamata Banerjee's public allegation of manipulation of the voter list and her decision not to resign caused the violence to spread so widely. This statement was extremely infuriating to BJP workers. Along with this, the illusion that Mamata might continue in power motivated a section of Trinamool workers to take to the streets. Even when the party leadership continues to allege that Trinamool workers are being hunted down across the state, many know it is far from the reality. Trinamool workers had chased and beaten up CPM workers just before the elections. In many places, even CPM offices have not been allowed to open. Corruption and hooliganism were rampant under Mamata's rule. Whatever you sow, you will have to reap. West Bengal is going through that phase now.

However, the BJP, which has come to power for the first time with a majority of more than two hundred seats, should not try to emulate the Trinamool style of violence. The central leadership of BJP should intervene in the matter and, if necessary, take steps to deploy more central forces and end the conflict. The rivers of Bengal have witnessed enough blood flowing during the partition and in Noakhali. At the same time, the same state produced world-renowned luminaries and intellectuals like no other in India. Let us hope that ultimate peace and progress return to Bengal in the coming days.