The escalating TMC-BJP violence in Bengal has triggered a showdown between Mamata Banerjee and the Centre

There is no end in sight to the political violence that has rocked the state since the Lok Sabha elections where BJP established itself as a strong opposition counterweight to TMC. Two political murders, on Sunday and Monday, of BJP-RSS workers, their bodies found hanging from trees, has raised fresh questions about the Bengal government's ability to keep the peace. TOI’s Rudroneel Ghosh and Jiby Kattakayam discuss the mindless violence, Bengal's history of bloodletting, and the steps that need to be taken by the state and central governments, TMC and BJP, to restore peace. Ultimately, this subversion of democracy will hurt everyone, most of all the people.