Sandeshkhali case: Will Mamata Banerjee win polls by threatening people, asks Nadda

NEW DELHI — BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday asked if West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to win the Lok Sabha elections by scaring and threatening people as he hit out at her government over the seizure of arms and ammunition by the CBI in Sandeshkhali.

In a statement, he expressed confidence that the BJP will win over 35 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state and conveyed his party's solidarity with the Sandeshkhali women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by former Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates.

Also read: Sandeshkhali victims narrate their horror to media, seek President’s intervention

Sheikh, now suspended from the TMC, is in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody and is also accused of land grab by locals.

The CBI on Friday seized arms and ammunition, including a police service revolver and foreign-made firearms, during searches at two premises of an associate of Sheikh.

The searches were conducted in connection with the January attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team by a mob that was allegedly instigated by Sheikh.

Watch: After foreign weapons were discovered in CBI's raid, NSG teams are now conducting search operations in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali. A close aide of Shahjahan Sheikh is also under NSG scrutiny. https://t.co/7rauuI1dMP pic.twitter.com/e5CxnAsfK5

— IANS (@ians_india) April 26, 2024

Hitting out at the state government, Nadda said, "Will Mamata Banerjee win the polls by scaring and threatening people? It is a grave mistake if she thinks she can win elections by this." People will teach her a lesson, he said.

By fielding a Sandeshkhali victim as one of its Lok Sabha candidates, the BJP has affirmed its support to women empowerment, Nadda claimed.

He said Sandeshkhali victims are not alone and the entire country stands with them.

Banerjee on Saturday said there was "no evidence" of recovery of arms and ammunition in Sandeshkhali and claimed that CBI teams conducted searches without keeping the state police in the loop.