Suvendu Adhikari Welcomes Court’s Decision to Deploy Central Forces in West Bengal

West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition and BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari, has welcomed the Calcutta High Court’s decision to give the Central Government full discretion to deploy Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in West Bengal. This decision aims to protect victims of post-poll violence.

Adhikari described the court’s decision as historic and criticized the state machinery for its failure to control the violence. He stated, “One more failure of the State Machinery has come to the forefront. The Hon’ble High Court at Calcutta in a Public Interest Litigation filed by me to save the victims from Post Poll Violence has essentially conferred the entire discretion of deploying Central Armed Paramilitary Forces in West Bengal to the Central Government. I welcome this historic decision of the Hon’ble Court which will save a lot of lives in this failed State of West Bengal.”

Incidents of post-poll violence have been reported from various parts of West Bengal, where BJP workers were allegedly beaten and their offices vandalized following the Lok Sabha 2024 results. On June 13, Adhikari was stopped by the police from entering the Raj Bhavan to meet Governor CV Ananda Bose with alleged victims of post-poll violence.

Earlier this month, Adhikari wrote to Governor CV Ananda Bose, raising concerns about the All India Trinamool Congress’ alleged role in the violence and urging steps to prevent a recurrence after the 2024 elections. He claimed that the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces stationed after the polls were not being utilized to control the situation.

Local BJP workers also alleged that a BJP party office in Goragacha, Taratala, was demolished without notice. Party worker MB Mahesh said, “I don’t understand why the BJP office was demolished by a bulldozer without notice…They are doing this because BJP is strengthening its presence here…Nearby there is a TMC office where illegal activities are carried out.”