Sandeshkhali women said apart from excesses, they have lost right to vote: Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday that women in Sandeshkhali informed him that apart from facing physical violence, rape or sexual violence, they have also lost their right to vote since 2011.
“It is not only restricted to physical violence, rape or sexual violence, they have even lost their right to vote. They said that they had last voted in 2011 Assembly elections,” Adhikari said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The BJP leader was accorded a rousing reception and treated to a petal shower as he arrived in Sandeshkhali, which has been on the boil after hundreds of local women came out on the streets, accusing fugitive TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his henchmen of sexual exploitation and excesses.
Adhikari also shared that women in Sandeshkhali told him that such incidents of torture have been going on since 2013 when Shahjahan joined TMC.
“I interacted with several victims today. They shared their incidents of torture with me. They said that the situation had been brewing for a long time. Since Shah Jahan joined the Trinamool in 2013, it has been going on continuously,” Adhikari said.
Commending the judiciary for granting him permission to visit Sandeshkhali, he said, “The government will be toppled through protests from the people. The judiciary has stepped up now, as it had done before 2011.”
When asked about the imposition of President’s Rule in West Bengal, Adhikari said that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not taken a stand on the matter, as a political worker from the state, he supports the National Scheduled Caste Commission and the National Commission of Women’s recommendations.
“Narendra Modi has never implemented Article 356 anywhere in his 10 years of governance. We have seen that under the Congress government frequently. However, I second what the SC Commission or the NCW has recommended to the Governor as a citizen and political worker from Bengal. However, as a member and functionary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, our party has not mentioned its stand on the issue,” Adhikari said.
The LoP shared that he has seen the agricultural plots that were illegally confiscated by Shahjahan Sheikh’s aide, Shibu Hazra.
On allegations of Rohingyas settled in Sandeshkhali, Adhikari said, “There is a settlement of 150 Rohingyas in Sandeshkhali. They have Aadhaar cards. Sheikh Shahjahan has given them 50 motorcycles.”
As you all know we had a police force to enforce section 144 in Dhamakhali this morning. It was headed by IPS Jaspeet Singh from Special Superintendent of Police Intelligence Branch. There are several MLAs including West Bengal Opposition Leader Subhendu Adhikari in Dhamakhali. There was an altercation with the police officer during which Subhendu Adhikari called the police officer a Khalistani, which is never befitting of a political leader. We strongly protest against it. We will take legal action against him for this serious comment.
A senior police officer was referred to as Khalistani during a confrontation between protesting BJP workers and the police at Dhamakhali.
“As you all know we had a police force to enforce section 144 in Dhamakhali this morning. It was headed by IPS Jaspeet Singh from the Special Superintendent of Police, Intelligence Branch. There were several MLAs including West Bengal Opposition Leader Subhendu Adhikari in Dhamakhali. There was an altercation with the police officer during which the opposition leader called the police officer a Khalisthani, which is never befitting of a political leader. We strongly protest against it. We will take legal action against him for this serious comment,” the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) South Bengal Suprateem Sarkar said in a press conference on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) hit out at the National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson, Rekha Sharma for demanding the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after her visit to Sandeshkhali.
“NCW Chairperson @sharmarekha’s attendance register – Absent, when women were paraded naked in Manipur Absent, when a woman was gang-raped in MP Also absent, when a BJP member is assaulted by another in Tamluk But, guess what? Present to politicise Sandeshkhali in West Bengal Someone finally woke up from her selective slumber,” the All India Trinamool Congress said in a post on ‘X’.
Earlier in the day, Suvendu Adhikari said the people in the area expressed satisfaction with the order of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, granting him permission to visit the trouble spot.
Meanwhile, speaking to ANI on the sidelines of his visit to Sandeshkhali, the BJP leader said, “People in this area are very happy with the Chief Justice’s verdict (letting him visit the island). With the arrival of the CBI, the state police have disappeared. All the wronged and distressed women of Sandeshkhali will get justice. The rapists, looters, mafia and those accused of vote theft will all go to jail.”
“People are with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and trust the BJP to do them justice. I visited all the villages (of Sandeshkhali) in three to three-and-a-half hours,” the LoP added.
Claiming that all those involved in the alleged atrocities in Sandeshkhali are ‘Mamata’s people’, Adhikari said each and every one should face the law, including the absconding Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides.
“They (the Sandeshkhali accused) are Mamata’s people, including Shahjahan and his aides. Not only Shibu (Hazra) Uttam Sardar, Jia-ul-Mollah, and Jahangir, exemplary action should be taken against all the people close to Shahjahan,” the BJP leader said.
On the BJP leaders detained by the West Bengal police in connection with the case, Adhikari said, “As many as 14 of our workers are in jail. Our Lok Sabha convenor, Bikash Singh, who is the former district president, has been arrested on false charges. However, we are ready to fight. They put him in a cell on trumped-up charges in a bid to reap political benefits (ahead of the Lok Sabha elections). He will get bail soon.”
Adhikari said he was confident that the people of Sandeshkhali would shower their electoral blessings on the BJP in the upcoming polls and help Prime Minister Modi return for a third, straight term at the Centre.
“I am confident that the people here will vote en masse for PM Modi in the Lok Sabha elections and do their bit to make him return for a third, straight term in office,” he said. Adhikari also shared that he will also be visiting another island in the vicinity named Jeliakhali from where similar reports of alleged torture have emerged. “Our leaders will keep coming here despite curbs and crackdowns. I will try to visit the Jeliakhali island from where there have been similar reports of torture (on women),” he said.