New Delhi/IBNS: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday ordered a probe into an attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Jagat Prakash Nadda's convoy in West Bengal's Diamond Harbour.
He has also sought a detailed report from West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar over the state's law and order situation.
The home ministry has insisted that the two reports from the Bengal administration should reach him within 12 hours amid allegations by the BJP that the state had slipped into complete lawlessness and anarchy.
Nadda and his party colleagues were on their way to Diamond Harbour, the Lok Sabha constituency of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, when the attack took place.
In the videos shared by the saffron outfit, stones were seen thrown at the convoys and some activists were chasing the cars.
Multiple vehicles in the convoy, including the SUVs of Dilip Ghosh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Mukul Roy and Anupam Hazra, were seriously damaged while few media cars also faced the attack.
Soon after the attack, Shah condemned the same in a tweet saying: "The attack on BJP president JP Nadda in West Bengal is condemnable. The central government is looking after the incident seriously. The West Bengal government will have to answer people for this organised violence."
आज बंगाल में भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री @JPNadda जी के ऊपर हुआ हमला बहुत ही निंदनीय है, उसकी जितनी भी निंदा की जाये वो कम है। केंद्र सरकार इस हमले को पूरी गंभीरता से ले रही है। बंगाल सरकार को इस प्रायोजित हिंसा के लिए प्रदेश की शांतिप्रिय जनता को जवाब देना होगा। — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 10, 2020
आज बंगाल में भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष श्री @JPNadda जी के ऊपर हुआ हमला बहुत ही निंदनीय है, उसकी जितनी भी निंदा की जाये वो कम है। केंद्र सरकार इस हमले को पूरी गंभीरता से ले रही है। बंगाल सरकार को इस प्रायोजित हिंसा के लिए प्रदेश की शांतिप्रिय जनता को जवाब देना होगा।
"Under the Trinamool rule, West Bengal has gone into an era of torture, misrule and darkness. The political violence has reached a peak where it is saddening for all people who believe in democratic values," he added.
तृणमूल शासन में बंगाल अत्याचार, अराजकता और अंधकार के युग में जा चुका है। टीएमसी के राज में पश्चिम बंगाल के अंदर जिस तरह से राजनीतिक हिंसा को संस्थागत कर चरम सीमा पर पहुँचाया गया है, वो लोकतांत्रिक मूल्यों में विश्वास रखने वाले सभी लोगों के लिए दु:खद भी है और चिंताजनक भी। — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 10, 2020
तृणमूल शासन में बंगाल अत्याचार, अराजकता और अंधकार के युग में जा चुका है। टीएमसी के राज में पश्चिम बंगाल के अंदर जिस तरह से राजनीतिक हिंसा को संस्थागत कर चरम सीमा पर पहुँचाया गया है, वो लोकतांत्रिक मूल्यों में विश्वास रखने वाले सभी लोगों के लिए दु:खद भी है और चिंताजनक भी।
Mamata Banerjee's reaction:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refuted the claims of Nadda being attacked saying the vandalisation was staged and planned.
"Every other day someone or else from their party is coming. They think only they would hold rallies and no one else," she said.
"He (JP Nadda) had security personnel from the Centre. How can someone attack him? The attack might have been planned like the way they had planned the vandalisation of Vidyasagar's statue. I won't tolerate lies all the time," the CM added.
Earlier, the West Bengal Police has maintained that "nothing happened to JP Nadda's convoy and it had reached Diamond Harbour safely".
"Shri JP Nadda, National President, BJP reached safely at the venue, Diamond Harbour, South 24 Pgs. Nothing happened to his convoy. Few bystanders at Debipur, Falta PS, Diamond Harbour PD, sporadically and suddenly threw stones towards vehicles trailing long behind his convoy," state police tweeted.
Shri JP Nadda, National President, BJP reached safely at the venue, Diamond Harbour, South 24 Pgs. Nothing happened to his convoy. Few bystanders at Debipur, Falta PS, Diamond Harbour PD, sporadically and suddenly threw stones towards vehicles trailing long behind his convoy. 1/2 — West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) December 10, 2020
Shri JP Nadda, National President, BJP reached safely at the venue, Diamond Harbour, South 24 Pgs. Nothing happened to his convoy. Few bystanders at Debipur, Falta PS, Diamond Harbour PD, sporadically and suddenly threw stones towards vehicles trailing long behind his convoy. 1/2
"Everyone is safe and the situation is peaceful. The matter is being investigated to find out actual happenings," the tweet read.
Everyone is safe and situation is peaceful. Matter is being investigated to find out actual happenings. 2/2 — West Bengal Police (@WBPolice) December 10, 2020
Everyone is safe and situation is peaceful. Matter is being investigated to find out actual happenings. 2/2
Facing the criticism of the BJP leaders, the ruling Trinamool hit back at the saffron party calling it for its "provocations".
"There have been provocations from the BJP but if there is any involvement of our party in the incident, we will investigate and take action," said West Bengal Minister and Trinamool veteran Subrata Mukherjee.
"Will request our activists not to be persuaded as BJP is conspiring to trigger violence in West Bengal," the senior politician said in a cautious statement.
The attack comes a day after Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh wrote to the Home Minister raising concerns about Nadda's security after he was shown black flags in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Several Union Ministers and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar condemned the incident.
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Bengal violence
