West Bengal, a state in the east of India, has witnessed a series of violent incidents allegedly connected with political rivalry, pitting the Trinamool Congress, the party which rules the state, against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which controls the national legislature.
A member of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) party was shot dead in the city of Burdhwan. The TMC has alleged that armed individuals associated with the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were complicit in the killing. A party worker identified as Rathin Biswas was shot dead by unidentified assailants.
West Bengal: Rathin Biswas, a TMC worker shot dead by unidentified assailants in Burdwan. TMC has alleged that BJP is behind the incident. Police investigation underway. (04.02.2020) pic.twitter.com/5PzxRfDWvw
— ANI (@ANI) February 5, 2020
The West Bengal Police have begun an investigation into the killing.
The TMC and BJP have been at loggerheads ever since the latter gained popularity in the state. In January, a BJP office was allegedly set on fire and the party blamed the Trinamool Congress for it at the time.
State Chief Mamta Banerjee has been organising public protests against India's controversial Citizenship Law and has accused the BJP of pushing a communal agenda through the law.
The state has witnessed violence over a law enacted by the country's ruling BJP government which provides citizenship to illegal immigrants from Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist backgrounds from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, while denying the same amnesty to Muslims.
Several opposition parties, including TMC have alleged that the law was discriminatory on religious grounds and violated Indian Constitution. But the government has clarified that it was not against any community and no Indian Muslim has anything to fear as the “law grants citizenship, does not snatch it”.
