New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has formed a six-member committee of Union Ministers and MPs to visit Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North Pargana district and collect information about the alleged incidents of sexual harassment and violence against women there.
Union Minister Annapurna Devi has been appointed as the convenor of this high-level committee, which also includes Pratima Bhowmik, BJP MPs Sunita Duggal, Kavita Patidar, Sangeeta Yadav, and Brijlal.
The committee has been tasked with visiting the site of the incidents, assessing the situation firsthand, engaging with the affected individuals, and compiling a detailed report. This report will be submitted to BJP President JP Nadda for further action.
Nadda, expressing deep concern over the reported incidents, highlighted the continuous occurrence of harassment of women and hooliganism in West Bengal. He criticized the administration’s passive stance, referring to it as a “mute spectator” in the face of such atrocities.
In Sandeshkhali, women have been protesting for several days, alleging atrocities committed against them by TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates. They accuse Sheikh and his ‘gang’ of forcibly capturing land and subjecting women to sexual harassment. Sheikh has been absconding since last month, following an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that had gone to raid his residence in connection with a ration scam.
