Bengal: Ram Navami Violence Points to Admin Lapses; Signs of Change in Voter Mood

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose recently told the media that his in-person visit was required by the situation at Rishra, in Hooghly district, after it was hit by violence during a Ram Navami procession. He said this was why he preponed his departure from North Bengal and rushed back, and soon after reaching Kolkata, went straight to violence-hit Rishra. His statement can be read as being directed at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who herself holds the Home portfolio. 

“I did not go there to write a report; I went there to see if the information I was given is correct,” Bose told the media, adding, “The situation called for an on-the-spot visit… All the enforcement agencies will take solid action against wrongdoers.”

However, political observers NewsClick spoke with termed the Governor’s comments as “loaded” while they also held that the administration had been found wanting in taking action.

Supporting their contention, some observers cited the Chief Minister putting the blame squarely on the Sangh Parivar, which includes the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political arm, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Banerjee said: “How did they (Sangh organisers of Ram Navami rallies) dare to change routes and choose to go through Muslim-concentrated localities, armed with swords and bulldozers?” Some political observers said her comment suggests that the police failed to ensure that the processions passed through only the permitted routes without carrying anything that might cause insecurity among the local residents.

Their second point was that the violence first broke out in Howrah on March 30 and then spread to Hooghly and North Dinajpur districts in the subsequent four days, which again was beyond the scope of police permission. 

Third, some of the observers said there was an administrative lapse, more so because 2022 also saw widespread violence in the Howrah district during Ram Navami. That should have made the state Home Department and the police more alert. 

One political observer, refusing to be named, cited the findings of the recently released India Justice Report (IJR) 2022, compiled by several socially active agencies under the aegis of the Tata Trust.  The report shows West Bengal in poor light. As much as 44.1% posts of police constables are lying vacant, an increase from 31%, as mentioned in the first edition of IJR published in 2019. The vacancy in this category of the police hierarchy is the highest in West Bengal among 18 states.

In the police officer category, vacancies related to the sanctioned strength are 25.2%. In rural Bengal, there is one police station on average for a 3.06 lakh population. Here too, the state is at rock bottom, according to IJR. In urban areas, there is one police station for 1.23 lakh population. In Kerala’s rural areas, there is, on average, one police station for 25,000 people.

Administrative failure, say political leaders, includes ineffective intelligence gathering. Senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said this bout of violence was the result of the failure of state intelligence agencies.

In the third term of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, this week’s violence in intensity ranks next only to the Bogtui carnage, which took place in Birbhum district on the intervening night of March 21-22, 2022. About 10 members of the minority (Muslims) community, including women and children, were charred to death. It was seen as the result of animosity between related families over sharing the spoils of covert activity and gross misuse of power by TMC leaders who held significant posts in the panchayats. 

The high percentage of vacancies has been hindering the deployment of police personnel to the desired strength on sensitive occasions and in sensitive localities.

In the constable category, the rise in vacancies by 13 percentage points in three years shows that little has been done by the Chief Minister to improve the situation. This is despite the fact that Banerjee, during her visit to Bogtui two days after the tragedy, had expressed her doubts about whether the intelligence network was doing its job. 

Opposition leaders also found fault with the Chief Minister for keeping several departments under her direct charge. These include home, finance, health and family welfare, among others. In the wake of the recent defeat of her party candidate by a big margin by the Congress nominee at Sagardighi Assembly constituency in Muslim majority Murshidabad district, she assumed charge of the Minority Affairs Department while relieving the Muslim incumbent. This is not surprising, as Banerjee has been relying on the 28-29% Muslim vote for her electoral victories. This was, therefore, her political reaction to the Sagardighi defeat, said some Opposition leaders. 

Interestingly, some knowledgeable quarters see ‘politics’ in the observations of the Governor after his visit to the trouble spots in Rishra. It set a sort of precedent and it won’t be surprising if, in future circumstances, he undertakes on-the-spot visits “to verify whether he had been given the correct information by the administration.”

Regarding the political slugfest that has followed the Ram Navami violence, some Opposition politicians said Banerjee was well acquainted with BJP’s politics, in general, as also in West Bengal. The BJP has been trying hard to be counted as a factor in the state. It succeeded to a great extent in the 2021 Assembly elections by bagging 77 seats, although its aim was to form the maiden ministry. Intra-party dissidence, blame game over the selection of candidates and the failure of the army of leaders from the Hindi heartland to understand the mood of the Bengal electorate considerably weakened the state unit.

Though intra-party dissidence has lessened to an extent, the BJP top brass is reportedly not satisfied with its state leadership’s organisational capabilities. More so at a time when panchayat elections are due in a matter of weeks. Also, there are indications that the electorate is slowly accepting the understanding between the Left Front and Congress. If this tie-up gets cemented, the alliance could dent the Hindu vote share of both TMC and BJP. 

Meanwhile, the statement of state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar is being interpreted as “an attempt at polarisation”. He said, “The CM is working not for all, but for only people of one religion”. It may be rather early to draw an inference, but there are pointers that sections of the minority community, particularly the youth, are now appreciating the fact that during the 34 year Left regime, communal tension was rare. 

The disenchantment of lakhs of state government employees with the TMC government on the dearness allowance issue, the instances of corruption in the education department recruitments aided by TMC leaders of various ranks, and the New Delhi’s prolonged brake on release of funds for MGNREGA job scheme and PM Gramin Awas Yojana have made matters difficult for Banerjee politically and administratively. The BJP’s tactics to polarise voters will further complicate the situation for TMC, but the saffron party may not necessarily end up being the gainer.
 

The writer is a Kolkata-based freelance journalist. The views are personal.