BJP MLA alleges assault by party workers; leader seeks CCTV proof

• BJP MLA from Debra got himself hospitalised in West Midnapore and alleged he was assaulted by party workers

• The BJP district president of Ghatal said the MLA was bluffing

• It is an internal affair of the party, said BJP leaders in Kolkata. The party would deal with it

On Monday, BJP president Nitin Nabin led a ‘Save Democracy’ march in Kolkata, claiming that the BJP government, which has been in office in West Bengal for six months, had put an end to extortion. However, BJP MLAs and workers appear to have a different story to tell.

Multiple clashes between party workers have been reported from different parts of the state over ‘extortion’ and some have pointed to the sudden prosperity of some leaders. Those who found it difficult to pay their bus fare are now riding in SUVs, said a woman worker in a video clip.

A BJP MLA from Debra in West Midnapore, Subhashis Om, got himself hospitalised on Monday and filed a police complaint against six party workers for assaulting him. He had tried to stop some party workers from filing a police complaint against other party workers, he claimed, but was assaulted by them. Workers, he said, should not wash the party’s dirty linen in public. This should have remained an internal issue and settled within the party, he said, and not taken to the police.

There is consensus in the party on keeping differences private. Minister Dilip Ghosh said that internal feuds within the party would be settled by the party. The MLA sought to give a spin by blaming the ‘extortion culture’ that prevailed earlier in the state. It was because the BJP was trying to put an end to this culture that resistance was being faced from certain quarters within the party, he added. He identified BJP workers owing allegiance to the president of BJP’s Ghatal district unit, Tanmoy Das as the culprits.

In a comic twist, Das actually visited the MLA in the hospital and claimed that the MLA was fit and fine when he arrived. There was no bandage on his head either, Das claimed, and added that the bandage was put before the media arrived. He had found the MLA walking around normally, Das claimed, but by the time the media arrived he was lying in bed with a bandage on his head. Doctors also queued up to check on him, he sarcastically added.

While conceding that differences should have been resolved within the party, Das claimed that the MLA had not suffered any injuries.

Das offered a different version of events, saying that a woman party worker had complained of being assaulted at the Dua regional office. She was on her way to the police station to lodge a complaint when she was intercepted.

"The MLA was not assaulted. I am certain that no one laid a hand on him," Das said.

He called for CCTV footage from the regional office, Debra police station and the hospital to be examined, saying it would help establish what had actually happened.

The Debra SDPO and local police officers visited the hospital to bring the situation under control. Although police reportedly collected CCTV footage, neither side had lodged a formal complaint as of Tuesday afternoon.

The BJP's West Bengal unit has witnessed several embarrassing incidents involving party MLAs and workers. These include a public spat between MLAs Arjun Singh and Kaustav Bagchi, as well as a recent incident in Memari, East Burdwan, where MLA Manab Guha allegedly abused a party leader over vehicle parking.