BJP Joins Left Chorus for Bandh on April 30

KOLKATA: Most of the political opponents in Bengal have converged on the strike path to protest against the alleged Trinamool Congress-sponsored terrorism in the civic polls. The Bengal unit of the BJP on Monday called a 12-hour Bangla Bandh on April 30.
The BJP's decision came a day after Left trade unions called a 24-hour general strike in the state on the same day.Left parties too have supported their labour arms. Intuc, the labour wing of the Congress, is also backing the Left strike.

“Some trade unions and political parties have given strike and bandh calls on April 30. We are also giving call for a 12-hour Bangla Bandh on the same day to oppose Trinamool's effort to murder democracy in Bengal,“ BJP state president Rahul Sinha said. He also urged the Congress to support their bandh.

The BJP on Monday demanded resignation of West Bengal State Election Commissioner SR Upadhaya and accused him of bias in handling the polls. “The commissioner followed the ruling party's instructions blindly on holding of the civic elections and, in doing so, he had made a gross injustice to the electors. We feel he has no moral rights to continue as the commissioner and he should step down immediately,“ Sinha said. He and other BJP leaders of Bengal held a demonstration in front of the poll panel office on Monday.

Congress didn't respond to the BJP's call for joining the bandh bandwagon till Monday evening.

“Every political party has the right to protest and urge other parties to support them. But there is no compulsion on the Congress to support a BJP-sponsored Bangla Bandh. We have already protested against Trinamool-sponsored terrorism,“ West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told ET.

While the protest call was uniting most of her rivals, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was away in Siliguri to meet the families of earthquake victims. She announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for each of the three families. “We will write to Delhi for financial assistance after making a detailed assessment of damage to life and property,“ she said. Three persons were killed and 69 injured in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in Saturday's earthquake. The wounded included 43 school children.

Banerjee held an administrative meeting at Uttarkanya, the state administrative headquarters in Siliguri, on Monday and announced formation of a crisis management group headed by the director-general of police (coastal security), Raj Kanojia.

CPIM politburo member and state party secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said on Monday that any attempt to foil their bandh by the ruling party activists would be dealt with strongly.He also said that any move by Trinamool activists to create disturbances during counting of votes on Tuesday would be thwarted by the people and Left party workers.