News Analysis India

Tag: NHRC panel

  • NHRC panel member probing Bengal violence belongs to BJP: Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Claiming that the post-poll violence narrative of the BJP is concocted, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that a member of the NHRC committee that visited the state to probe the violence belongs to the saffron party.

    In an indictment of the Trinamool Congress government, the committee, constituted by the NHRC on the order of the Calcutta High Court to investigate alleged human rights violations during post-poll violence, had said in its report that the situation in the state is a manifestation of “Law of Ruler” instead of “Rule of Law”.

    “One NHRC member has turned out to be a BJP man. He was in the past a frontline ABVP official. I think he has merely gone by the BJP version and contributed his part to the report,” Banerjee told a press conference.

    She said that some sporadic incidents of violence had taken place in the state after the assembly polls but at that time, the Election Commission was in control of law and order.

    The TMC supremo said that the election results were declared on May 2 and till May 4, she was only heading a caretaker government and took full command after swearing-in on May 5.

    “We had to undo the arbitrary transfer of officials by the EC during the polls and restored order by bringing back DMs, SPs and local level officers who know the areas,” the chief minister said.

    Wondering why the NHRC panel report submitted to the high court was leaked to the media, she said, “I won’t say more on the issue as it is sub-judice but feel sad the way the BJP is destroying the sanctity of certain hallowed institutions.

    ” Contrary to the claims, it was the BJP that had killed TMC members in its stronghold areas, she alleged.

    “The post-poll violence narrative of the BJP is concocted with fake videos and weaved with a sinister design.

    But having been rejected by the people of Bengal, they won’t succeed,” Banerjee said.

    The NHRC committee submitted its report to a five-judge bench of the high court headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal on July 13.

    The National Human Rights Commission, in its report, had also talked about “retributive violence” by supporters of the ruling party against those of the main opposition party.

    The high court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to file an affidavit stating its position on the NHRC report by July 26.

    Leaders of the West Bengal BJP, including its president Dilip Ghosh and several MPs, sat on a dharna in New Delhi on Wednesday to protest against the alleged political violence targeting party workers in the state.

  • Deeply hurt, will explore legal options: Bengal minister on being tagged as ‘criminal’ by NHRC panel

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Taking umbrage at the fact that his name has been included in the “list of notorious criminals” by the NHRC panel which prepared a report on post-poll violence in Bengal, forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick on Friday said he was exploring his legal options.

    Several other TMC MLAs, whose names figured in the list, claimed that a deliberate attempt was being made to tarnish the image of their party.

    Mallick, a three-time MLA from Habra in North 24 Parganas, said, “I am deeply hurt by the accusation. Leave alone an FIR, if anyone finds a general diary against me in any police station of West Bengal, I will reward that person.

    “Steps will be taken in accordance with the law, a defamation suit will be filed in court if required.”

    An inquiry panel, formed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman on a direction of the Calcutta High Court, has stated in its report that the situation in the state of West Bengal is a “manifestation of law of ruler, instead of rule of law”.

    The report, which was submitted before the high court on July 13, also recommended a CBI probe into “grievous offences like murder and rape”.

    An annexure of the document has named several TMC leaders as “notorious criminals”, including the forest minister, Canning Purba MLA Saukat Molla, Naihati MLA Partha Bhowmick, former Dinhata legislator Udayan Guha and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s election agent in Nandigram constituency, Sheikh Sufiyan.

    Echoing Mallick, the Naihati MLA said that the “list smacks of vindictiveness”.

    “There is no criminal case against me. This was a deliberate attempt on the part of the commission to malign the TMC,” Bhowmick, a three-time MLA from Naihati, said.

    Guha, on his part, alleged that an NHRC team had visited the houses of the ones who had attacked him at Dinhata in Cooch Behar, but not his home, although it is “situated a stone’s throw away”.

    Accusing the NHRC committee of having adopted a “partisan attitude”, Sufiyan said the panel has acted at the behest of the BJP and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.