Jungle raj in Bengal, alleges JP Nadda

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president J P Nadda on Saturday launched a new broadside against the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which he alleged had allowed a “jungle raj” to prevail in West Bengal. Nadda also said the protector had become the predator in the state.

On the banks of the Hooghly river to offer a prayer for BJP workers allegedly killed in violence over the past couple of years in Bengal, Nadda said: “There is no law and order here. It’s jungle raj. Everyday, those professing a different school of thought are being eliminated.”

His hard-hitting comments appeared to signal that the gloves are once again off between the two rivals in West Bengal after a brief truce this month during which West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited New Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom she invited to the state to inaugurate the world’s second largest coal block, and studiously avoided any political attack on the BJP or the central government.

Hostility between the BJP and the TMC has intensified in the wake of the Lok Sabha elections this year, in which the former notched up sizeable gains in West Bengal. The BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal, compared to two in 2014. The Trinamool’s seat tally came down to 22 from 34 in 2014.

Nadda alleged that in the past few years, there had been about 2,500 attacks on BJP supporters and 80 people had died in violence. “She (Mamata Banerjee) has got no vision, no direction and nothing to give to the people of West Bengal. It’s only violence,” said the BJP leader, vowing that his party would end the “jungle raj” in the state.

Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders hit back . “I have respect for traditions but tarpan is usually done for one’s ancestors. I am not in favour of using tarpan for politics,” said minister and senior TMC leader .