Mamata to visit Birbhum today; Modi calls violence 'heinous'

Her visit is likely to coincide with HC hearing

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to visit on Thursday Rampurhat in Birbhum, which saw violence earlier this week that left eight people dead.

Mamata is expected to reach Rampurhat around noon. The violence at Rampurhat began after a local TMC leader was killed in a crude bomb attack.

The incident had triggered outrage and calls by the opposition for President's Rule in the state on the grounds that law and order had collapsed.

Mamata's visit is expected to coincide with the Calcutta High Court resuming hearing of the suo motu case into the Birbhum violence. The High Court had ordered the police to protect witnesses and also submit the case diary and give details of progress in investigations by 2pm on Thursday.

Congress state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Choudhury is also scheduled to visit Rampurhat on Thursday. On Wednesday, Choudhury, who is the Congress party's leader in the Lok Sabha, wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind on the Birbhum violence.

Choudhury urged the president to invoke Article 355 in West Bengal to ensure that the government is run in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Article 355 is an emergency provision in the Constitution that empowers the Centre to intervene in a state to protect it from external aggression or internal disturbance.

“It is very sad to note that during last month itself there were 26 political murders in West Bengal. The post-poll violence has claimed many lives. The whole state is in the grip of fear and violence,” Choudhury wrote to the president.

Modi comments on Birbhum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday described the killings in Birbhum as “heinous”. He said the culprits should not be forgiven. Modi said the Centre was willing to help the state in investigating the incident.

“I hope that the state government will definitely ensure that those who have committed such heinous crimes are punished, I would also urge the people of Bengal to never forgive the perpetrators of such incidents, those who encourage such criminals. The Centre would extend all sorts of help to the state government to ensure the culprits are booked,” Modi said at a virtual event.