Sandeshkhali has made headlines after locals levelled serious allegations against Trinamool leaders
Determined to keep the Mamata Banerjee government on the backfoot on the Sandeshkhali issue, the Bengal unit of BJP has said they can arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and women from the island when he visits Bengal next month. The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit the Trinamool Congress-ruled state next month for several party events, including a meeting of BJP's women's wing.
Bengal BJP president and MP Sukanta Majumdar has said the Prime Minister may address a rally on March 6 in Barasat, which is in the same district as Sandeshkhali. "Today, we came to know that the Prime Minister will be visiting the state on March 6 and will address a women's rally at Barasat. If the sisters and mothers of Sandeshkhali want to meet Modi, we will definitely arrange it," Mr Majumdar said, according to a PTI report.
Top BJP sources, however, said the Prime Minister is only visiting Bengal for a day and as of now, there is no plan of him meeting women from Sandeshkhali.
A nondescript island in Bengal's North 24 Parganas, Sandeshkhali has been catapulted to national spotlight after the BJP accused local Trinamool leaders of sexually harassing women on the island. When NDTV visited Sandeshkhali and spoke to residents, many of them accused local Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of land grab and extortion. Some of them alleged that Shahjahan's aides would extort from them money received under welfare schemes of the state and the Centre. The strongman has been missing for over a month now after a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had gone to raid his home in a corruption case, came under a mob attack.
The BJP, now the main Opposition in Bengal, has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of trying to hush up the issue and shielding Sheikh Shahjahan. The Trinamool chief has responded by accusing the BJP of instigating unrest on the island.
The allegations have also prompted probes by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and the National Human Rights Commission. While the Scheduled Tribes panel visited the island today, the NHRC has said it will depute a team to ascertain facts.
The Sandeshkhali issue has reached the doorstep of the judiciary, with the Calcutta High Court clearing BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's visit to the island on Tuesday and pulling up the state government for its failure to arrest Shahjahan so far.
"We have seen the grievances, the women of the area have flagged issues, there has been some land grabbing. This person (Sheikh Shahjahan) cannot be on the run. The state cannot support it. In the suo motu matter, we will ask him to surrender here. He can't be defying law," Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam said Tuesday. "If one person can hold the entire population to ransom, the ruling dispensation should not support him. He is just a representative of the public. He is bound to do good to the public," he added.
The state police have said a total of 17 people have been arrested in the aftermath of the allegations. While Shahjahan's close aides Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra have been taken into custody, Shahjahan continues to be on the run. The police have said they are also holding camps on the island so that local residents can file complaints of land grab and extortion.