As the Assembly election draws nearer, the fight for the political space gets brutal in West Bengal. On March 21 (Sunday), the house of an Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader was set on fire in West Bengal South 24 Parganas district. The incident took place at Shapa in the Bhangor police station area.
ISF leader Ajit Molla was returning home after attending party chief Abbas Siddiqui’s rally when his house was set on fire. No one was injured in the incident, the police informed.
While the recently floated party Indian Secular Front pinned the blame of the attack on the incumbent Trinamool Congress party in the state, the latter has refuted the allegations. “The house of Ajit Molla was set on fire allegedly by Trinamool Congress “goons” as he attended the rally of Abbas Siddiqui in the area on Sunday”, the ISF alleged.
Police said they have arrested two people in connection with the incident and filed a case.
On the same night, police also recovered 20 crude bombs from Chaltaberia in the Baruipur police station area of the district.
Islamic cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui floats new ‘secular’ party
Ahead of the high octane Assembly polls in the state, Islamic cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui had floated his new ‘secular’ political party in Kolkata, West Bengal on January 21, 2021. Both the Congress party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), have allied with Abbas Siddiqui with the hope to re-establish its non-existential political careers in the state.
Although he had initially planned to align with Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), the plan did not materialise. He instead joined hands with the Communist Party and the Congress, which in their desperation to reinvent their sinking careers have conveniently overlooked Siddiqui’s incendiary rhetoric, fear-mongering and call for ‘divine intervention’ for the death of Hindus.
Political violence in West Bengal
West Bengal politics has always been marred with violence and as the state gears up for its high voltage Assembly elections, the spate of political violence has only been rising. In the recent past, innumerable BJP workers have fallen victim to political violence in the state. Though the Trinamool Congress has been always been in a denial mode, the fact is that the ruling Trinamool Congress led by CM Mamata Banerjee has always been steadfast in waging a war against her political opponents in the state.
West Bengal polls will be held in eight phases starting with 27th March. The results for the elections will be declared on 2nd May 2021.