Shameful that it happened under a woman CM: BJP's Anirban Ganguly slams TMC over Sandeshkhali issue

Jadavpur (West Bengal) [India], May 20 : Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Anirban Ganguly slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, over the Sandeshkhali issue and said that it is a matter of "shame" that the episode was "allowed to happen" under the leadership of a woman Chief Minister.
Ganguly is the BJP's candidate from the Jadavpur constituency. The voting on the seat will be held on June 1 in the seventh phase.
He also exuded confidence that the BJP will improve its tally in West Bengal in comparison to the last year.
Speaking to ANI on Monday, Anirban Ganguly said, "We have very good expectations. We are going to get more seats here in Bengal than in 2019 and it will be an unprecedented gain for BJP in West Bengal."
Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government over the Sandeshkhali incident, he termed the episode a "shame" for the state.
"It is a shame for West Bengal, for all of us. That this could happen, this was allowed to happen under the watch of a women Chief Minister," the BJP leader said on being asked about the Sandeshkhali issue.
Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district, started hitting the headlines in February this year when villagers, mostly women, came out on the streets against the ruling TMC and Shahjahan (the main accused in the incident).
Women accused Shahjahan and his aides of perpetrating atrocities on them along with gobbling up their land. Multiple women on the island accused Shajahan and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.
Speaking further, the BJP leader slammed CM Mamata for accusing the BJP on the issue, saying she is "stressed".
"I think she (Mamata Banerjee) is too stressed. Someone who can accuse the Ram Krishna Mission...ISKCON, can naturally accuse the BJP also. She is stressed, she needs to take rest. She should stop campaigning for some time, because she realizes she is losing her ground," he added.
Reacting over the Ramakrishna Mission row, Ganguly said, "She has taken a U-turn but that U-turn is also dishonest."
This comes after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accused ISKCON, Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevashram of "acting under instructions" from New Delhi. She questioned why monks are getting involved in politics. Her remarks created a stir drawing heavy criticism.
"There is a maharaj in Behrampore; I have been hearing about him for a long time. Kartik Maharaj. He says he will not allow any TMC agent in the poll booth. I do not consider him a saint because he is directly involved in politics. I used to respect Bharat Sevashram Sangha a lot. It has been on my list of respected organisations for a long time," she said at an election rally.
Coming out heavily against West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee over her remarks, PM Modi said 'threats' are being issued against these socio-religious organisations to please their vote bank.
"The TMC government, which intimidated and threatened the people of Bengal during elections, has crossed all limits this time. Today, in the country and the world, ISKCON, Ram Krishna Mission, and Bharat Sevashram Sangh are known for service and morality, but today the Chief Minister of Bengal is openly threatening them, warning them from an open platform," PM Modi said.
"There are millions of followers associated with these missions all over the world, and their sole aim is to serve the people. The Bengal government has pointed a finger at him and is threatening his name. So much courage! Just to please their vote bank," he added.
CM Mamata later issued a clarification, saying she is not against Ramakrishna Mission or any institution, but was only talking about a few people.
The polling for 42 seats of West Bengal is being held across all seven phases. The counting of votes is scheduled on June 4.
The constituencies of Bangaon, Barrackpur, Howrah, Uluberia, Srerampur, Hooghly and Arambagh are voting today.
In 2019, BJP made strong inroads into TMC's hold in West Bengal, by winning 18 seats and being a close second to TMC, which won 22.