Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Khagen Murmu sustained injuries when he was assaulted and stones were thrown at his car during a visit to the flood-affected Nagrakata community block in Jalpaiguri district. BJP MLA and Chief Whip of BJP legislature party Shankar Ghosh also injured during this visit who was accompanied Murmu at Nagrakata.

What happened with Murmu

Murmu along with his party colleague, the Siliguri MLA Shankar Ghosh were visiting the affected areas on Monday afternoon when the incident took place.

The BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya had reached Bagdogra this morning. From Bagdogra, teams of BJP elected representatives like Murmu, Ghosh, BJP’s Darjeeling MP Raju Bista and others left for the affected areas.

At Bamandanga near Nagrakata, the vehicle that Murmu and Ghosh were travelling in was left behind as the convoy moved ahead. Few hundred people surrounded the vehicle, picked up stones on the river bank and hurled at the car.

Videos showed Murmu bleeding heavily from the head. Shankar Ghosh’s car was also vandalized during the incident.

According to party sources, the team was interacting with flood-affected residents when a group of locals allegedly began hurling stones.

“Trinamool Congress workers assaulted us. They were shouting slogans at us. They did not want us to visit the flood-affected areas before chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Some local police personnel, who were at the spot, did not come to our rescue,” BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh told reporters.

“We were going to some villages that were hit by the floods on Sunday. Our intention was to assess the damage and submit a report to the Centre so that relief materials could be distributed. The villagers started assaulting us. They smashed all the windows of the car with stones and sticks. I had a narrow escape,” Ghosh said.

What TMC said

However, TMC denied that, their supporters did this. TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya said, “We do not support violence but one must understand that people of North Bengal voted for BJP time and again but what they received in return was betrayal from Modi and BJP. What happened today was complete outrage of common people because all BJP did to them is betrayal and even in these tough times BJP leaders went today for photo optics and not to provide any relief materials to the affected ones.”

Mamata’s appeal

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is also in North Bengal to take account of rescue operation in North Bengal’s flood affected area, wrote in her “X” handle, “My sincere appeal, many people have suffered serious losses in this disaster. We deeply feel their pain. However, even in these difficult times, we must remember that unity and patience are our greatest strength.”

She further added, “Request to everyone, do not lose courage, maintain restraint and caution. The government and administration are fully on the side of the people, and together we will overcome this disaster. Please stay calm, don’t listen to rumors, and cooperate with the people around you. No untoward incident is desirable at this time, we will stand by each other and face this crisis together.”

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