Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Thursday declared during his West Bengal election campaign that if his party comes to power in the state, the police would undergo a transformation. "Uttar Pradesh-style encounters" was his prime promise on this count as he addressed a gathering in Kharagpur. Dilip Ghosh with locals at a campaign event in Kharagpur on Thursday, March 26. (Photo: FB/@dilipghoshbjp)
"After May 4, everything will change. The police you see today sitting and having tea with mafias and acting as 'chamchas' (lackeys) of corrupt leaders will change their character. The same police will conduct encounters in the style of Uttar Pradesh and put criminals behind bars," he said, as per news agency PTI.
A former state unit president of the BJP, Ghosh alleged that police personnel in Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal currently function at the behest of the Mamata Banerjee government and fail to act against criminals.
BJP-ruled UP under CM Yogi Adityanath touts its “encounter” policy as a massive success — meaning killing of alleged criminals — even as there are concerns over the police allegedly acting as judge-jury-executioner.
Ghosh's remarks triggered a political storm, with the TMC accusing the BJP of endorsing extra-judicial violence.
An unfazed Ghosh later doubled down: “I have fought many battles against goons and mafias in Kharagpur, and I will fight again. But perhaps that will not be necessary this time. Once the BJP comes to power, everyone involved in crime will be caught and sent to jail.”
Ghosh, who represented Kharagpur Sadar segment in the assembly from 2016 to 2019, has again been fielded by the BJP from the constituency. This seat served as one of the party's early political footholds in West Bengal when it began expanding beyond its traditional pockets.
"Cases were filed against us alleging we threatened people with weapons. But if someone gets scared, Ghosh will obviously scare him. Why should one be afraid? If you have courage, come face to face. If they can loot, steal, and intimidate voters with the help of police, why can't we challenge them?" Ghosh said, adding that his politics in the industrial town has always been about confronting adversaries head-on. "The people of Kharagpur voted for me because of that, and they will vote for me again," he added.
Earlier in the day, at a tea gathering with supporters, Ghosh said police are scared of removing illegal cutouts and billboards of the chief minister. "We have complained to the Election Commission. The EC must ensure that the election is conducted without bias," he said.
Ghosh's remarks come at a time when the BJP has been sharpening its law-and-order pitch in West Bengal ahead of the assembly polls, while the TMC counters by accusing the BJP of trying to import what it calls the "encounter raj" model from other states.
"Encounter culture works in Uttar Pradesh, not in Bengal. EC must take note of his speech," Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said.
The BJP last time managed to get 77 assembly seats, against just three in 2016, but the TMC dominated the 294-seat House yet again and is now seeking a fourth consecutive term since Mamata Banerjee's “change” campaign unseated an entrenched Left Front government in 2011. The Left and Congress remain much smaller players since as the BJP, which claims Mamata favours “appeasement of Muslims”, dominates the Opposition space at present.