India
pti-PTI
Kolkata, Apr 17: After meeting the wife of slain Congress councillor of Jhalda Municipality Tapan Kandu on Sunday, the leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP, demanded imposition of Article 356 in the state.
Under Article 356 of the Constitution, President’s rule can be imposed in “case of failure of constitutional machinery in State” if the President, on receipt of a report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
Adhikari, who also met the kin of Kandu’s close friend Niranjan Baishnab, who had an unnatural death recently, told reporters in Jhalda that the party will extend all possible help to all people affected by “TMC atrocities” in recent times “without going by party colours”.
“We had demanded CBI probe into the murder of Tapan Kandu and the unnatural death of Baishnab. We are happy the hon’ble high court ordered court-monitored probe into the incidents. We had pledged all support to the families of the nine people burnt to death at Bogtui recently and are satisfied that the central probe agency is investigating the incident.
“We had also rushed to be with the family of student activist Anis Khan who had a mysterious death in Howrah district’s Amta and I had promised all help to his father,” Adhikari said.
Asserting that none of the victims had any association with the saffron camp, he said, ” …we believe in humane values. The BJP always stands by humanity and does not label anyone as its vote bank.” Claiming that the law and order situation has collapsed in West Bengal as manifested in the spate of recent incidents, he said “the Mamata Banerjee government has squarely failed to address the situation. TMC members are suspects in all the cases and the state police are mute spectators. We think Article 356 should be imposed in the state immediately.” Tapan Kandu was shot dead near his residence on March 13, while taking an evening stroll. He had won from ward number 2 of Purulia’s Jhalda Municipality in the civic polls held in February and was a popular leader in the area.
Baishnab, Kandu’s friend, was found dead at his residence on April 6, two days after the same bench of the high court had ordered a CBI probe into Kandu’s murder.
Some reports had claimed that he was a witness to Kandu’s killing.
The councillor’s widow had moved the high court seeking a CBI investigation in the murder of her husband, alleging complicity of local police in the case.
The court had also ordered a CBI probe into the burning to death of at least nine persons at Bogtui in Birbhum district on March 21 night after the murder of a TMC panchayat official.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by West Bengal Police is probing the death of Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader Anis Khan, who died after a mysterious fall from his under-construction house.
The Khan family had alleged that Anis had been thrown off from the second floor of their house by four policemen from Amta police station who had forced themselves into the residence at Dakshin Para neighbourhood of Sarda village on the night of February 18.
