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Kolkata: There has been news of an attack on Union Minister of State for Home Nishit Pramanik’s convoy in West Bengal. The Union Minister’s convoy was pelted with stones when he was going to meet with the party workers in Coochbehar’s Dinhata area in West Bengal. Pramanik alleged that Trinamool Congress supporters attacked him. To control the crowd, the police had to fire tear gas shells. Pramanik is the MP from Coochbehar.
Attack video surfaces which shows a big group of goons with sticks are seen sloganeering, while force along with the police are seen guarding Pramanik. After sometime, towards the end of the video, noise of firing can be heard from a distance and people are seen rushing.
According to the information, the Union Minister was going to the local BJP office at the time of the attack. According to local media reports, there was anger among people over the death of a tribal in alleged firing by the Border Security Force (BSF) against Pramanik.
Significantly, BSF comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Pramanik is the Minister of State for Home. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also targeted Pramanik at a rally in Coochbehar recently. He said that nothing has been done by the minister to address the concerns of the tribals.
He said, “If a minister is not safe, you can imagine the plight of the common man. This incident shows the state of democracy in Bengal.”
On 19 February, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) staged a sit-in near the residence of Union Minister of State for Home Nishit Pramanik in Coochbehar district, demanding justice for “an innocent youth from the Rajbanshi community who lost his life after being shot by a BSF personnel”. Cattle smuggler has been told. According to local officials, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been imposed in a radius of 150 meters around the minister’s residence with heavy security arrangements in the area to avoid any untoward situation.
Protesting the death of 24-year-old Prem Kumar Barman in Dinhata block, the TMC demanded immediate action against those involved. The protesters raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pramanik. Central forces were seen patrolling around Pramanik’s house during the day. Also, bamboo barriers have been installed to prevent anyone from violating the prohibitory orders.
