A four-member team of BJP visited the violence-hit Asansol in West Bengal on Sunday and took stock of the situation on the ground after last week's Ram Navami violence. The four-member BJP delegation, led by its national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, visited Asansol amid tight security and were joined by the local BJP leaders at relief camps.
A four-member team of BJP visited the violence-hit Asansol in West Bengal on Sunday and took stock of the situation on the ground after last week's Ram Navami violence. The four-member BJP delegation, led by its national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, visited Asansol amid tight security and were joined by the local BJP leaders at relief camps.
Notwithstanding Section 144 which has been imposed there, the delegation reached Asansol. They reached the place at about 11.30 am and had been stopped twice by top administrative official including district magistrate Sashank Sethi but they chose to continue.
Interestingly, they had visited only areas of Asansol which were inhabited by Hindus and like the visit of West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Saturday and avoided pockets which were Muslim-dominated.
After returning to Kolkata, Hussain blamed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for "having failed" to control the situation in the Asansol-Raniganj belt of West Burdwan district and said, "It (the government) has played the role of a mute observer." "We visited relief camps in Asansol and found that whatever had happened was wrong. It was a failure on the part of the state government," he told reporters.
Hussain said the delegation will submit to BJP chief Amit Shah tomorrow a report on whatever they observed in Asansol. The delegation had been formed by the BJP chief.
Besides Hussain, the delegation included BJP national vice-president and Rajya Sabha member Om Prakash Mathur, Palamu MP and former director general of Jharkhand police Vishnu Dayal Ram and Rajya Sabha member Roopa Ganguly.
"We want the administration to take strict action against the culprits responsible for the riots here," Mathur said.
On the way to the coal town of Asansol, the delegation was first stopped by the police at Basra More and then near Kalipahari as prohibitory orders were in force in the area.
The BJP leaders, however stuck to their plans and proceeded to Asansol.
The Mamata Banerjee government had yesterday said it would not allow the BJP team to visit the coal towns of Asansol and Raniganj as prohibitory orders under section 144, CrPC were in force in the riot-hit towns.
It had also said that with the dates for the panchayat polls announced and the model code of conduct being in force, it would not be able to provide ample security for the BJP delegation visiting Asansol.
Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi had yesterday paid a visit to the violence-hit areas of Asansol and Raniganj.
He had held a meeting with senior officials of the police and administration and appealed for peace.
The Asansol-Raniganj belt had witnessed clashes between two groups over Ram Navami celebrations, resulting in the death of one person. Two police officers too were injured in the clashes.
The internet services remained suspended in both the towns, a senior police officer said.
(With PTI inputs)
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