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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Locket Chatterjee on Thursday took a jibe at West Bengal Chief Minister over the Sandeshkahli incident, stating that people of the state would make sure that Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief Mamata Banerjee "sits on the street".
"The entire country is seeing the situation in Sandeshkhali but CM Mamata Banerjee is attending a TMC rally rather than visiting Sandeshkhali. Mamata Banerjee is scared. There are several Sandeshkalis in Bengal," Chatterjee said while speaking to reporters. "One day, the people of West Bengal will make sure that Mamata Banerjee sits on the street. Why are police arresting us, what have we done?" she added. Earlier today, BJP women leaders, led by Locket Chatterjee and Agnimitra Paul, who were enroute to Sandeshkhali were stopped by the Kolkata Police from entering the village, which has been witnessing turmoil for the past few weeks. The team was detained by the police on the outskirts of Kolkata, even as the leaders were holding a sit-in protest at the site. "Rohingyas are the vote bank of Mamata Banerjee. Nationalist Muslims and Hindus of the state will not vote for her. Criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan are helping Rohingyas enter West Bengal," Agnimitra Paul told the reporters. Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district has been witnessing widespread protests against Shahjahan Sheikh this month as a section of women were seeking justice against alleged atrocities committed by the TMC leader. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Shajahan Sheikh and his close aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion. After weeks of no action, on February 29, TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested by West Bengal police, after which West Bengal's Basirhat Court remanded him to 10-day police custody. Meanwhile, the suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan, the key accused in the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases, was handed over to the custody of the CBI on Wednesday. Following the Calcutta High Court's directive, the Crime Investigation Department handed over custody of Sheikh Shahjahan to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday. Earlier today, West Bengal CM Banerjee on the eve of International Women's Day challenged the perception that atrocities against women occur in the state and claimed that Bengal is the safest state. "Yesterday, you (BJP) came here and lectured about atrocities against women. I challenge you, Bengal is the only place where women are safe, and it is the safest state. Where was the BJP when women were paraded naked in Manipur? Where were you when Haryana was burning? This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier a day, targeted the TMC government over the Sandeshkhali matter. (ANI)
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