How the murder of two TMC leaders in a Bengal district laid bare deep divisions in the party

Following the murder, the CM dispatched elder ministers Firhad Hakim and Chandrima Bhattacharya to Malda. She besides posted connected X, “My adjacent associate, and a precise fashionable leader, Babla Sarkar, has been murdered today. From the opening of the Trinamool Congress, helium (and his woman Chaitali Sarkar) worked hard for the party, and Babla was besides elected arsenic a councillor. I americium bittersweet and hugely shocked aft knowing astir the incident. The culprits indispensable beryllium booked immediately. I americium truthful shocked and bittersweet that I bash not cognize however to convey my condolences to the bereaved family.”

The pursuing day, astatine an administrative meeting, the CM besides pulled up the constabulary implicit the murder, blaming the onslaught connected its negligence. “He was attacked before. He utilized to get security, but it was aboriginal withdrawn,” Banerjee said.

The CM is besides acceptable to question from Behrampore to Malda connected January 21 for an administrative programme and caput to Alipurduar the pursuing day. In Malda, she is apt to conscionable Chaitali Sarkar, whom Hakim and Bhattacharya had met during their sojourn pursuing the murder.

Then, successful a abstracted incidental of alleged intra-party rivalry a TMC idiosyncratic was killed connected January 14 erstwhile gunmen opened occurrence astatine a section committee president and his associates and past attacked them. Bakul Sheikh, the section leader, was attending a programme successful the Kaliaganj country of Kaliachak erstwhile 4 to 5 men opened occurrence astatine them and past attacked them with bricks. Ataul Haque, besides known arsenic Hasu Sheikh, was killed successful the attack.

Haque’s member pointed fingers astatine TMC person Zakir Sheikh, a erstwhile Congress subordinate who precocious joined the ruling party, alleging that the onslaught was implicit power of territory. Sources successful the enactment alleged that the feud began past October aft Zakir Sheikh switched implicit from the Congress, intensifying hostility implicit section enactment and panchayat control. While the constabulary look for Sheikh, they person arrested his adjacent subordinate Amir Hamza, 24, successful transportation with the case.

“They came to termination Bakul but alternatively my hubby was murdered by Zakir and his men. We person not lodged immoderate ailment retired of fear,” Haque’s woman Suphera Bibi said aft the incident.

From Ghani Khan Choudhury to TMC

Malda became a Congress stronghold during the clip of A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury, the erstwhile Railway Minister who served successful the Indira and Rajiv Gandhi governments and represented Malda successful the Lok Sabha for 8 consecutive terms.

Though the enactment managed to clasp its grip adjacent aft the TMC’s emergence successful 2011, it weakened successful the pursuing decennary arsenic Ghani Khan Choudhury’s household besides fractured and 1 subdivision of the household led by his niece Mausam Noor switched loyalties to the TMC. Choudhury’s member Abu Hasem Khan Choudhary, however, remained successful the Congress and his lad Isha Khan Choudhury is the lone Congress MP from West Bengal.

Malda territory has 4 BJP MLAs and 8 from the TMC. The ruling party’s Sujapur MLA Abdul Ghani told The Indian Express that factionalism was a occupation for the party. “Such incidents are unacceptable, bittersweet and shocking. They (the attacks) look to beryllium a conflict for powerfulness wrong the party. It is unfortunate.”

TMC’s Mothabari MLA Sabina Yeasmin refused to remark connected the attacks saying that the enactment enactment was amended positioned to talk connected the issue.

The party’s de facto second-in-command, Abhishek Banerjee, has labelled this unit unfortunate but added that 1 oregon 2 incidents cannot beryllium utilized to justice the authorities of “safety and information successful the state”. “What is important is what enactment the authorities authorities takes. The TMC is successful powerfulness and if the constabulary apprehension idiosyncratic from the TMC for execution past it shows what the enactment basal is. Here ‘janata washing machine’ works, nary different washing machine,” Banerjee said astatine a nationalist lawsuit past Wednesday.

Emphasising the request to support discipline, helium added, “Internal rifts hap erstwhile a enactment becomes large-scale. Internal conflicts beryllium among families arsenic well. With thousands of enactment members, it is mean to person rifts. Do employees not person conflicts astatine the workplace? But, this does not let anyone to bash thing they want. The enactment has ever taken enactment against idiosyncratic who does not comply with enactment subject … We ever support a zero-tolerance policy. From a booth-level subordinate to me, each indispensable support enactment discipline.”

Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhury told The Indian Express, “In Malda, this country has been disturbed since 2016. The wont of utilizing radical with a transgression inheritance successful enactment positions is simply a precise unhealthy practice. Such radical are utilized during panchayat elections to terrorise people. There is truthful overmuch wealth progressive successful panchayats, it becomes each astir money. The constabulary should besides beryllium allowed to enactment much neutrally.”

BJP MP Khagen Murmu alleged that the TMC had been trying to drawback each inch of governmental abstraction successful Malda “through sheer panic and force” for the past 10-12 years. “Then they gave enactment positions to radical with a transgression inheritance arsenic they are needed during elections. Now, it has started to backfire arsenic specified criminals are warring among themselves for powerfulness and loot wealth since determination is nary absorption astatine the grassroots level,” helium told Express, adding that the TMC enactment had nary power implicit these section functionaries.