Mamata, BJP spar over arms recovery in Sandeshkhali

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress and BJP engaged in a heated exchange of accusations on Saturday, after a joint operation by CBI-NSG-CRPF led to the discovery of seven firearms and 348 cartridges at Sandeshkhali in Bengal's North 24 Parganas district a day earlier.

BJP urged EC to confiscate all illegal arms, saying Bengal is sitting on a powder keg.

CM Mamata Banerjee criticised BJP for allegedly using central agencies to stage-manage political "drama" in Bengal while Manipur remained engulfed in turmoil. "Manipur is burning even now, but they are busy playing with sandesh, laddu in Bengal. Two CRPF jawans have died (in Manipur), my condolences to their families. But why have you been unable to control the unrest in Manipur for almost a year? Why were churches burnt and women paraded naked?" Banerjee questioned BJP. Two CRPF jawans died Saturday in Manipur in an attack by suspected insurgents.

Banerjee accused CBI of keeping Bengal police in the dark about the search in Sandeshkhali. "A chocolate bomb explodes in Bengal and CBI, NIA, NSG are all sent here. It is as if there is a war going on here. No one knows where the arms were found in Sandeshkhali. Maybe it was brought in their own car and presented as recovered items... It is possible you yourself planted five guns and some drugs and narcotic substances at someone's home and then shared the photographs," she said.

Trinamool wrote a two-page letter to EC accusing Centre of using its agencies on poll day (second phase on Friday). The party criticised CBI for tipping off the media but not involving state authorities.

During her campaign for Asansol candidate Shatrughan Sinha, the CM also referred to Saturday's blast at a BJP man's home in Basirhat. "He had stored bombs in his house. They think that they can win by throwing bombs and taking away jobs. People want roti, kapda and makaan and jobs, not the violence or Modi's lofty speeches," Banerjee said.

Bengal's leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari of BJP demanded the CM's arrest, holding her responsible for a series of bomb blasts across the state since 2021. "Her party should be banned as a terrorist outfit," he said.

Former Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh urged EC to recover illegal weapons promptly to prevent further unrest. "Trinamool has moved EC to protect its weapons stored in and around the forcibly occupied farmlands of Sandeshkhali."