The Bharatiya Janata Party raised their pitch over the recent attack on party lawmakers in flood-hit north Bengal, with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saying that the Lok Sabha speaker has sought an urgent report on the attack from the State government, during his visit to the affected region on Tuesday (October 7, 2025).
“Because of the brutal attack on a Lok Sabha MP, the Lok Sabha speaker has issued a notice and sought an urgent report from the State government. We want the West Bengal government to promptly submit a ground report so that we can take further action,” Mr. Rijiju said to reporters at Siliguri in north Bengal on Tuesday.
He added that in the event of a delay in the submission of the report, BJP’s parliamentarians “will take necessary action”.
“It is not just about an MP and MLA, every citizen should be provided safety. Inside India, there is a system, law and order. No one can accept people taking law and order into their own hands, running a gundaraj, and assaulting other people,” the Union Minister said.
On Monday (October 6, 2025), BJP MP from Malda Uttar, Khagen Murmu, had to be hospitalised with severe bleeding and head injuries after a delegation of BJP leaders was attacked with sticks and stones during their visit to flood-affected Nagrakata in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district. The vehicle carrying the MP and MLA, and the chief Opposition Whip in West Bengal Legislative Assembly Shankar Ghosh, was also vandalised.
On Tuesday, Mr. Rijiju, along with Leader of Opposition of West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and MP Raju Bista, visited flood-affected areas in Darjeeling, particularly Mirik, which was hit most severely by floods and landslides and witnessed the consequent collapse of civic infrastructure, including a bridge. They also met survivors and the families of those who passed away in the calamity.
BJP demands arrests, NIA probe
“Not a single person has been arrested for the attack on our leaders at Nagrakata yesterday. The First Information Report was filed last night. We can see clearly on video who the perpetrators are and we will move the vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court if there is no arrest by tonight,” the Leader of Opposition said on Tuesday morning.
He later alleged that the incident had taken place due to the “provocation” of the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, the president of the West Bengal unit of the BJP, Samik Bhattacharya, on Tuesday demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and warned Trinamool against “unleashing Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas to attack BJP workers”.
“Who are [the perpetrators]? They are not people affected by the floods. They belong to Hajipara or Hajibasti. Everyone knows that the demography of that place has changed in the last two years. They were made to carry out a planned attack on advisasis because from that adivasi area, a BJP parliamentarian takes the lead [in polls],” Mr. Bhattacharya alleged.
He further claimed that the attack on Mr. Murmu and Mr. Ghosh was orchestrated “entirely for political reasons”.
Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and BJP MP from Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb, were among the dignitaries who visited the injured Mr. Murmu at the hospital at Siliguri on Tuesday. In the afternoon, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also made a surprise visit.
Meanwhile, in Kolkata, BJP carried out a protest rally against the attack at Dharmatala Crossing.
Trinamool retorts
Responding to the BJP’s charges, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Standing by the people of West Bengal, supporting them during a natural calamity, giving them their entitlements is not [the BJP’s] priority. They are looking for ways to engage in politics like vultures. We have already condemned the attack on BJP’s MP and MLA and said that this is not the right way for people to express resentment.”
He added that the people’s resentment has stemmed from instances such as the alleged non-disbursement of funds for the 100 days’ work scheme as well as the assault on Bengali migrant workers in other States.
“A BJP leader was killed in BJP-ruled Odisha. Whose law and order are you talking about? The people are already rejecting [the BJP], and they will continue to do so if they keep engaging in politics at a time like this,” Mr. Ghosh said.
Published – October 07, 2025 10:23 pm IST
