Hindu Samhati in BJP trap, needs to be disbanded: Ghosh
Controversial Hindutva leader Tapan Ghosh, who recently quit the far-right Hindu Samhati that he himself founded 10 years ago, has called for disbanding the group, arguing that the present leadership had fallen into the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)’s “trap.”
Hindu Samhati has grown rapidly in various parts of Bengal since its foundation in 2008, a year after Ghosh, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak since 1975, quit the organisation, accusing it of “lacking courage.”
Hindu Samhati recently became a key entity in Bengal’s communally volatile political scene, saying openly that it did not believe the BJP was going to do Bengal’s Hindus any good.
“I have urged Hindu Samhati workers to disband it. Bengal at present does not suit an apolitical organisation. We did not want to get involved in politics because politics tends to divide Hindus on socio-economic lines. Hindus need an organisation that will represent all Hindus – the rich and the poor, the Dalit and the Brahmin,” Ghosh said.
“I reversed the stand. The organisation should cease to exist. The present leadership has fallen in BJP’s trap,” Ghosh said.
The BJP is seeking to make inroads into West Bengal ahead of next year’s general election. On Saturday, BJP president Amit Shah lashed out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of sheltering Bangladeshi infiltrators. He criticised her for opposing the National Registrar of Citizens, updated in Assam recently as part of an effort to identify and deport illegal immigrants.
Refuting Ghosh’s allegation, Debtanu Bhattacharya, who stepped into his post, said, “We have no idea why Ghosh is making this allegation. We will remain apolitical. In reality, we are trying to rid our organisation of inclination towards TMC...”
Notably, Ghosh has criticised Trinamool chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for Muslim appeasement, but also given her ‘7 out of 10’ for development. He argued that Hindus gained most from Banerjee’s development programmes.
“Gangasagar pilgrimage infrastructure got a total revamp. What she has done for the Hindus cannot be ignored,” Ghosh said.
Hindu Samhati was accused of playing a role in several of the communal riots that took place in Bengal over the past couple of years. The BJP and the Left had branded Hindu Samhati ‘Trinamool’s Hindutva wing’ but Bengal’s ruling party always denied any connection with the outfit.
"The competitive communalism between RSS and Hindu Samhati had already become a danger to the state's secular fabric. Now there will be competition between the two factions of Hindu Samhati, which will intensify communal propaganda in the state," said Ranjit Sur, vice-president of the Association for Protection of Human Rights (APDR), Bengal's largest rights group.
Recently, the difference between Ghosh and the present leadership of the Hindu Samhati widened over their stand on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. While Ghosh strongly criticised the BJP-led government for excluding Hindus from the list, Hindu Samhati president Bhattacharya said BJP should not be criticised for the NRC issue.