The worst-kept secret in India has made the records of the Bengal Assembly.
“Bhitorey dhukiye debo,” is the standard operating procedure for dealing with opponents of the BJP, it appeared from a threat attributed to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in the House on Friday. In some other parts of the country, “bhitorey dhukiye debo” takes the form “andar kar dega”, which translates in practical terms into “you will be thrown into prison”.
Adhikari, the BJP MLA representing Nandigram, is the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. His alleged target was irrigation minister Partha Bhowmick. The timing could not have been more telling.
The alleged threat coincided with one of the busiest weeks for central probe agencies that have been raiding or summoning Opposition figures. Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was among several Opposition leaders to have signed a recent letter to the Prime Minister, alleging that central investigative agencies were being misused.
On Friday, Adhikari was speaking on the panchayat budget when he asked lawmakers Krishna Kalyani and Biswajit Das (both won on BJP tickets and defected to the Trinamul Congress) to clear the air on their party affiliations. Adhikari himself is a turncoat from Trinamul, who switched to the BJP on the eve of the last Assembly elections.
After Adhikari concluded his address, panchayat minister Pradip Mazumdar started speaking on the budget. Irrigation minister Bhowmick asked Adhikari to clarify which party his father Sisir Adhikari (a Trinamul MP whose current status is ambiguous) belonged to. “Sisir babu kon dawley (Which party is Sisir babu in)?” Bhowmick asked.
“Ek masher modhye bhitorey dhukiye debo (I will have you inside within a month)!” several ruling party leaders present in the Assembly quoted Adhikari as replying.
Adhikari did not mention prison but in common Bengali parlance, “bhitorey dhukiye debo” in such a context would normally imply “will have you incarcerated”. Bhowmick stood up and drew the Speaker’s attention to the matter, saying: “Sir, he is saying that he will have me put behind bars within a month.”
The government and Opposition benches erupted against each other and amid the commotion, Speaker Biman Banerjee said that Adhikari’s statements were uncalled for and the House would keep a record of them.
Adhikari himself had been probed by the CBI for his alleged involvement in the Saradha and Narada cases till his defection to the BJP. The letter signed by Mamata and other Opposition leaders had cited the example of leaders like Adhikari and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who too was under the CBI’s scanner in the Saradha case during his days in the Congress.
Minister Bhowmick referred to the letter while addressing a news conference later on Friday, asserting that Adhikari’s behaviour had vindicated the contents of the letter. The leader of the Opposition claimed that Bhowmick was maligning his father. Bhowmick later said he had never said anything unparliamentary in the House in his 11 years as MLA.
“The honourable leader of the Opposition has threatened to put me behind bars within a month. I am feeling insecure,” Bhowmick said in the Assembly. Responding to Bhowmick’s statement, Speaker Banerjee said the House would look into the matter of his security and that he could bring a privilege motion against Adhikari if he wanted. “Action will be taken on it (the motion),” the Speaker said. Bhowmick later brought a privilege motion against Adhikari, adding that he would also file a complaint with the Hare Street police station.
Asked about the developments, Adhikari declined comment. He said that whatever he had said in the House had been recorded, and if one wished to know further, they ought to go through the records. “Who is Partha Bhowmick? He is not my counterpart. I have defeated his owner, Mamata Banerjee,”Adhikari said.
