Ex-judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay who joined BJP calls for President’s rule in Bengal

Former Calcutta High Court judge and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhijit Gangopadhyay on Saturday said.

The President’s rule should be imposed in West Bengal as the law and order in the state “is in shambles”. Gangopadhyay made the remark in Siliguri while addressing his first public rally after joining the BJP on Thursday.

“The law and order of the state is in shambles. Police harass people by the order of seniors. I was asked if the President’s rule should be imposed in Bengal. I say yes,” said the former high court judge.

Abhijit Gangopadhyay was in Siliguri to take part in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally. It will be the Prime Minister’s third trip to the state this month.

The former high court judge also slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, saying she did not go to Sandeshkhali.

He also took a jibe at Nusrat Jahan, the TMC MP from Basirhat, the constituency that covers Sandeshkhali, and said instead of meeting the residents of the village, “she was busy dancing”. Other BJP leaders also criticised Nusrat Jahan last month for posting on her social media page during Valentine’s week as women protested in Sandeshkhali.

The village in North 24 Parganas district was at the centre of political turmoil which began in January when an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team which went to conduct a raid at the house of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan was attacked.

After he fled from the authorities, several women came forward raising allegations of sexual exploitation and land grabbing against Shahjahan and his associates.

Shahjahan was finally arrested after 55 days and the Trinamool Congress suspended him from the party for six years.

In the wake of the allegations against Shahjahan, multiple delegations went to visit Sandeshkhali and several of them had called for the imposition of the President’s rule in West Bengal. This included the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which recommended the imposition of the President’s rule in the state to safeguard the rights of the Scheduled Castes.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) also recommended the same after the panel’s Chairperson Rekha Sharma met the women in Sandeshkhali in February.