The mercury is rising in state politics over the various controversial remarks by Bageshwar Dham's controversial self-styled godman Dhirendra Krishna Shastri and the resulting situation. While a storm of protest has erupted at political and social levels over this controversial issue, the Congress leadership has strongly condemned and expressed anger over the arrest of a ordinary citizen on a bizarre and baseless pretext of directly insulting Lord Hanuman instead of criticizing Bageshwar Baba. Citing this police arrest, the Hand camp has raised a host of questions regarding the maintenance of law and order and the functioning and neutrality of the current state government.
Protesting against this incident and raising their voices on Saturday morning, a strong demonstration program was held at the foot of Mahatma Gandhi's statue located in the local district court premises under the leadership of Pradesh Congress District President Debesh Chakraborty. The Congress stated that this program was undertaken to strongly protest against Bageshwar Baba's recent controversial and provocative statements. Not stopping after the demonstration, the district president went straight to the court and assured all legal assistance to the detained Congress worker who fell victim to police harassment.
Ventilating their anger over the entire matter, Congress leader and prominent lawyer Shampa Sarkar launched a direct attack on the local police administration. She angrily alleged that just as the police administration used to act at the beck and call of the ruling party for political interests in the past, there has not been the slightest change in the current times either. The police are working as party slaves of the current ruling party. She made a serious allegation that ordinary people are being arrested in false cases out of sheer political vendetta without any kind of solid legal evidence or strong basis.
Presenting a long and detailed account of the incident, Shampa Sarkar stated that on September 9, as per the party's specific directives, district pradesh committee member Prasenjit Puitundi went to the police station to take legal action against the controversial remarks of the Bageshwar Dham chief and wanted to file a specific complaint. However, adopting a deeply biased and one-sided attitude, the police not only refused to accept that FIR or written complaint, but completely dismissed it. Yet, the very next day, BJP Youth Wing workers went to the police station and filed a bizarre and fabricated counter-FIR. Their laughable argument was that the Congress did not insult Bageshwar Baba directly, but instead insulted Hindus' revered deity Lord Hanuman himself. Using this flimsy excuse as a weapon, the police very hastily arrested an ordinary citizen and sent him to jail.
Strongly criticizing this double standard of the BJP, the Congress leader further sarcastically remarked that no matter what the BJP Youth Wing workers say and despite pretending to publicly disobey all the irrational decrees or instructions of Bageshwar Baba, on that day they filed an FIR alleging the insult of Lord Hanuman over the trivial matter of hanging a locket of Lord Hanuman around Bageshwar Baba's neck at that controversial event. Comparing this entire police action to an unreal scenario, she said this is like writing an essay on a 'cow' instead of an essay on the 'rainy season' in a childhood exam—a completely unrealistic and laughable script created by the police and the BJP.
Notably, a intense storm of protest has already erupted across the state of West Bengal following such controversial and provocative remarks by Bageshwar Baba. Various political parties, intellectual circles, and multiple social organizations are vehemently protesting against it. In this situation, the Congress leadership has issued a clear warning that such imposed decisions or the politics of social polarization will never be accepted by the conscious and secular people of West Bengal. The intensity of the movement against this will increase in the coming days. If the administration continues its biased behavior and partisan servitude in this manner, the Congress will walk the path of a broader and more intense movement together with the common people.
