Several residents of trouble-torn Bhatpara today confronted a highpower delegation of state ministers and ruling Trinamul Congress MLAs when the latter visited the area scarred by violence, arson and loss of two lives in firing during the past few weeks. They wanted the ministers to explain how the situation had been allowed by the administration to spin out of control.

At one stage some residents were seen having heated exchanges with minister Firhad Hakim who tried to shout them down. But they were undeterred and kept complaining that no action had been taken against the culprits for the damage done to their homes and business.

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Mr Hakim said newly elected BJP MP Arjun Singh and “his muscle men” were responsible for the violence. He alleged that Mr Singh possessed illegal arms and ammunition and demanded his arrest. Later, Mr Singh told the media if the police dared to arrest him, they would face the consequences. “Minister Firhad Hakim and his team members reached the spot with around 50 cars packed with police. Later, he and his party leaders were at Jagaddal police station delivering lectures to people brutalised by their muscle men. Is this the way to speak to local residents bearing the brunt of state-sponsored terror? The police in the state have proved how trigger-happy they are and the killings of two persons in police firing is one such instance,” he said.

The other members of the Trinamul delegation include ministers Subrata Mukherjee, Jyotipriya Mullick, Sujit Basu and Bratya Basu. Mr Singh said the Trinamul was now trying to reap political benefits through highpower visits. “The situation in the area is under control and peace is returning. At this stage the ruling party sends its delegation to claim they are instrumental in bringing peace. But the people of the constituency have seen the duplicity and use of muscle power by the Trinamul Congress. Before the Lok Sabha poll, the Trinamul predicted the BJP would lose the seat, but we have won. It shows how the ruling party has become alienated from the people,” he said.

On 20 June, clashes broke out at Bhatpara between two groups owing allegiance to the Trinamul and the BJP. The area comes under Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, a seat won by the BJP. During the violence, the two groups hurled crude bombs at each other and gunshots were also fired.

“The visits of the Congress-Left Front and Trinamul Congress delegations to the area earlier this week are studies in contrast,” Congress Rajya Sabha member Pradip Bhattacharya said. While the peace march of Congress and the LF had been stopped by the police, the Trinamul delegation was accompanied by police contingents, he said.

According to him the reaction of the local residents to the visit by the ministers and ruling party MLAs during the day was only natural. “They tried to ventilate their pentup anger as the administration let the situation drift away and helped Trinamul activists go on the rampage in a turf war. The ruling party had the shock of its life when the seat was wrested by the BJP and it tried to recover lost ground with the use of force,” Mr Bhattacharya added.