Trinamul Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s call to gherao houses of Bengal BJP leaders has led to confusion among ruling party leaders who feel the drive will create law-and-order problems and hand the saffron camp a chance to play victim in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“We apprehend that such gherao will trigger a law-and-order crisis at many places. To reap political mileage the BJP will use the agitation to tell the nation that their workers are being intimidated in Bengal. We are already receiving calls from leaders in the districts who do not agree with the programme to gherao the houses of the BJP leaders,” a Trinamul source in Calcutta said.
Abhishek had at the Martyrs’ Day rally in Calcutta on Friday asked Trinamul workers to prepare a list of BJP leaders and gherao their houses on August 5 from 10am to 6pm for the Centre’s decision to withhold Rs 1.15 lakh crore due to Bengal under multiple central schemes.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who spoke after Abhishek, appeared to play down the announcement by asking leaders and party workers to organise protests at least 100 metres from the houses of BJP leaders, not at the booth level but at the block level.
A source in Trinamul said even though Mamata had tweaked the political programme, leaders in multiple districts had ordered that lists of houses of BJP leaders be drawn up to prepare for the August 5 drive.
Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister, has asked party workers on social media to participate in the gherao in Cooch Behar’s Bhetaguri, the hometown of junior Union home minister Nisith Pramanik.
“Not only Guha, but many enthusiastic leaders across Bengal have already started campaigning in the villages about the gherao. There was no political need to gherao the houses of BJP leaders. We are hopeful that Didi will come up with another form of protest,” a Trinamul leader said.
Multiple Trinamul leaders in several districts claimed there was a lot of confusion over the political programme announced by Abhishek and pointed to flaws in the plan.
First, the recent rural polls have shown that the BJP isnot a factor for Trinamul across Bengal. Now, gheraoing the houses of BJP leaders will give unnecessary mileage to them.
Second, in most rural areas the BJP does not have a prominent leader. In these areas, Trinamul workers will have to go for lower-rung BJP leaders.
Third, there are chances of law-and-order violations as it will be a challenge to control hundreds of party workers from surrounding the houses of BJP leaders.
“The drive will give political dividends to the BJP. The party is yet to send us a clear directive about the August 5 programme and that is why confusion is prevailing among the party leaders. We hope the party will play down the announcement and adopt a different political drive,” said a Trinamul leader in Birbhum.
BJP leaders have latched on to the opportunity to counter Abhishek. A BJP leader on Friday lodged a complaint with Rabindra Sarovar police station in Calcutta against Abhishek.
State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar has spoken to Union home minister Amit Shah about the Trinamul plan.
“Leaders are involved in politics, not their family members. There are children, women and elderly people. Such a gherao will violate human rights as well as child rights,” Majumdar said.
Minister Sashi Panja said: “Are the BJP leaders scared? These BJP leaders had asked their seniors in Delhi to stop funds for Bengal.”
