Kolkata, June 27 (IANS) A team of intellectuals on Thursday visited Bhatpara, which has been on the boil since the 2019 elections results on May 23, in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal and appealed people to restore peace.
The team, led by popular actress-filmmaker Aparna Sen, actor Kaushik Sen and theatre artist Chandan Sen, met the residents of Bhatpara and Kankinara areas. They walked from Kankinara to Bhatpara and met residents to gather the first-hand account of violence in the past one month.
They said the team would submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi about the prevailing situation. "We have come here with a message of peace. We will submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister and the Governor on the situation. The fight between political parties has turned into a communal battle here. It was not like this before," Aparna Sen said.
Stating that people of different communities in this area were living together peacefully, Sen said, "the fight between the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since the time of elections has communally polarised people. It's unacceptable."
Actor Kaushik Sen said people of Bhatpara and adjoining areas were living in fear due to continuous violence. They also visited the family of Dharambir Shaw, allegedly killed in the firing last week.
Sen said they would also meet leaders of opposing political parties to appeal them to maintain peace in the area.
When told that no TMC representatives had visited the area, Sen said the leaders must clarify why they refrained from coming to the area as the ruling party had a moral responsibility for the region.
Bhatpara and its adjoining Kankinara, Jagaddal, Naihati areas under the Barrackpore parliamentary constituency have been on the boil since May 23.
Former Trinamool MLA from Bhatpara Arjun Singh, who defected to the BJP just before the 2019 polls, won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat while his son Pawan Singh won the Assembly by-election from Bhatpara.
To contain a flare-up on June 20, the police had to open fire that left two persons dead and four others injured. The administration later imposed prohibitory orders in the area.
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