Bengal landslides: Death toll rises to 36; BJP questions Mamata Banerjee on morality lessons

Kolkata: The death toll following heavy rainfall and landslides in the hills, Terai, and Dooars regions in North Bengal till Tuesday morning has risen to 36, as per the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and district administrations in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri.

With the weather conditions improving since Monday morning, there has been substantial progress in relief and rescue operations. Several affected people have been shifted to safe places, and tourists have been evacuated from the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the BJP has questioned whether the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had the moral right to question the Prime Minister over the latter’s criticism of the West Bengal government and Trinamool Congress following the attack on a BJP Lok Sabha member and party legislator, allegedly by the ruling party activists, on Monday afternoon.

After the vehicle of BJP Lok Sabha member, Khagen Murmu and the party’s chief whip in the Assembly, Shankar Ghosh was attacked while they were on their way to the disaster-affected areas with relief for the people, in which Murmu was severely injured, the Prime Minister issued a social media statement on the same evening and claimed that the development highlighted the insensitivity of the Trinamool Congress as well as the absolutely pathetic law and order situation in the state.

On Monday night, Mamata Banerjee issued a counter-statement accusing the Prime Minister of politicising the natural disaster in North Bengal and claimed that he chose to blame the Trinamool Congress and the West Bengal government outright without any verified evidence, legal inquiry, or administrative report.

Hours after that, the BJP’s Information Technology Cell Chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal issued a statement questioning whether the Chief Minister had any moral right to give lessons of morality to the Prime Minister.

“It wasn’t the Prime Minister who politicised the disaster — it was Mamata Banerjee who abdicated responsibility. Instead of leading relief efforts, she was busy celebrating in Kolkata, while BJP MPs and MLAs were on the ground, providing aid to the affected,” Malviya claimed.

He also claimed that the attack on the BJP Lok Sabha member and the legislators was not spearheaded by the local people but by the ruling party’s goons.

“The same Chief Minister who speaks of constitutional ethos runs a regime where: Opposition candidates are killed during elections, women are brutalised in Sandeshkhali and Basirhat, police turn into party muscle and relief is distributed on party lines,” Malviya added.

IANS