BJP, CPI(M) fact finding teams turned back from violence-hit

Fact-finding teams of BJP and CPI(M) were today denied permission to visit violence-hit Kaliachak in West Bengal's Malda district by the authorities, triggering a spat with the state's ruling TMC, which alleged saffron outfits were trying to "communalise" the situation ahead of Assembly election.
A team of BJP MPs which arrived in Malda early this morning was turned back from the railway station itself, drawing a sharp attack from the party which accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of playing "vote bank" politics and said it will take the matter to the President. The party said it would request Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to order a high-level probe into the prevailing situation in the area.

Hours later, a CPI(M) team headed by MP and politburo member Mohammed Salim was also prevented from reaching Kaliachak.
A fact-finding team of BJP MPs Bhupendra Yadav, Ram Vilas Vedanti and SS Ahluwalia, a BJP member of Parliament from the state, was turned back by the district authorities soon after they alighted the Gaur Express at Malda Town station at 6 AM, citing prohibitory orders.
Yadav claimed they were forced to return by Howrah-bound Shatabdi Express.
"This act of West Bengal government is condemnable," Yadav said. Ahluwalia said the team will request Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to constitute a high-power committee to go into the situation in the area.

"The purpose of the visit was to console the people, to restore their confidence that something like this will not happen in future. Due to pressure from the state government, the district administration said that we cannot go there as Section 144 CrPC has been imposed," Ahluwalia said.

The decision to not let the three-member BJP team go there was a "text book example" of Banerjee's vote bank politics, Siddharth Nath Singh, a BJP national secretary, alleged, in Delhi, adding the "dictatorial state government has compassion for criminals but it shows (tamncha) gun to nationalists".
Mohammed Salim said in Kolkata the CPI(M) team was turned back by the authorities citing "law and order issues".

"I along with my party leaders was going to Kaliachak. It was pre-planned, but all of a sudden a huge police contingent stopped us near Amriti area of Malda, 35 km from Kaliachak. I told them that being an MP it is my duty to find the facts and talk to the people. But, they said they can't allow me," Salim told PTI.
"I want to ask the administration what are they trying to hide that they are stopping all other political parties (from going to Kaliachak)?" he said.
West Bengal's ruling TMC mounted a swift counteroffensive, charging the BJP with "whipping up communalism" ahead of the state assembly election.

"BJP/RSS, as is their strategy, tried to turn it into communal issue. They did this by trending hashtags on Twitter, sharing year-old photographs and posting irresponsible tweets with the help of its social media army", TMC MP and chief national spokesman Derek O'Brien said in a statement in Kolkata.