Senior Trinamul Congress leaders and state cabinet ministers, Sujit Bose and Partha Bhaumik, reached Sandeshkhali today to address ongoing issues and also interact with the villagers by appealing to them to restore peace.
Sujit Bose stated, “There have been some issues and we are here to know them first-hand. We will talk to the local people.”Responding to questions about Sheikh Shahjahan, he emphasized, “Our party does not impose anything on anyone. We don’t condone injustice. We’ve already addressed 150 complaints. Investigations have been conducted near the incident sites.”
Meanwhile, DYFI West Bengal state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee today was prevented while she was on a toto and travelling to villages at Sandeshkhali. Later, she demanded that land grabbed from villagers in Sandeshkhali be returned immediately. Mukherjee, who reached river-bounded Sandeshkhali using a detour to avoid detection by the administration, was stopped by the police and taken to Sandeshkhali ferry ghat on the banks of river Kalagachi.
“We want the administration to immediately take steps to give back agricultural land of the villagers, which were grabbed by TMC leaders Shahjahan, Shibu Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar and were turned into water bodies for fish farming,” she said. She claimed that people want the arrest and prosecution of Sheikh, Hazra, Sardar and also some police personnel, who allegedly did not pay heed to complaints against these TMC leaders by the affected villagers.
“I have been told that I cannot move around since prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in force in the area,” Mukherjee told reporters at Sandeshkhali. She said that while ruling party leaders were being allowed to move around, opposition leaders were being stopped from interacting with the affected villagers, while refusing to leave the area.
Bose and Bhowmick visited Sandeshkhali on Saturday and went around some villages. “I have come here as the state’s irrigation minister and not as a political leader,” Bhowmick said, reacting to Mukherjee’s charge.
Sandeshkhali’s legislator Sukumar Mahato said, “There is no resentment towards our party. Some outsiders are creating unrest. TMC workers in our area are raising funds to return it to the poor people. Other parties are causing unrest in Sandeshkhali.”
The MLA added, “No allegations against Sheikh Shahjahan have been made, and no wrongdoing has occurred.”