The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was heard in a video claiming to be a BJP mandal president, Gangadhar Kayal in Sandeshkhali, saying that he was the one “hatching the conspiracy.” This led the TMC to accuse the BJP of being behind the Sandeshkhali case on Sunday.
The man was heard on the video—the veracity of which could not be independently confirmed—stating that Adhikari had allegedly asked him and other local BJP leaders to encourage women to accuse TMC leaders of rape, including Shajahan Sheikh, who is among the principal accused in the case of sexual abuse.
The TMC made the footage available on May 4.
TMC leaders Sagarika Ghose, Saket Gokhale, and Shashi Panja accused the BJP of defaming West Bengal in a joint news conference. They insisted on an apology from the BJP.
“The BJP had a dark scheme to defame West Bengal and cause chaos in order to impose President’s control on the state. This was carried out by the state BJP at Suvendu Adhikari’s request. It’s clear from the video that women were paid to file false police reports, according to Ghose. Gokhale said that while political conflict was good, the BJP shouldn’t utilize fabricated rape allegations to harm West Bengal’s reputation.
“The people of Bengal are the objective here, not the TMC. They took money away from the state and jobs from MGNREGA workers. Why are you causing suffering to the people of West Bengal? After the tapes were made public, the Election Commission has not once seen the need to step in. The EC has not shown any desire to learn the facts about what really transpired in Sandeshkhali. “Will the EC prevent the PM from saying anything more about Sandeshkhali?” he inquired.