Vandalism of CPI(M) Offices in Howrah Sparks Political Tensions
Incident Overview
Photo: @ians_india/X
Kolkata, Sep 16: Late Tuesday night, multiple offices of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Bali region of Howrah district were reportedly vandalized by unidentified individuals, according to party officials on Wednesday.
The CPI(M) has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating these attacks, a claim that the BJP has categorically denied, asserting that they had no involvement in the incident.
Party representatives indicated that the Dewangazi Zonal office located on Panchanantala Road and another office on Belur Station Road were among those targeted. Additionally, several other party offices in the vicinity were also reportedly damaged.
A CPI(M) leader stated that a group of assailants arrived on motorcycles around 11 p.m. and proceeded to vandalize the offices for approximately 45 minutes.
This incident occurred shortly after an event hosted by the CPI(M)'s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), at Panchanantala near the Bali Canal, which was attended by party leader Dipsita Dhar and others.
According to CPI(M) officials, tensions escalated following the event, leading to the subsequent attacks on party offices later that night.
Shankar Maitra, a member of the CPI(M) district committee, reported, "Local BJP leaders arrived on bikes around 11 p.m. and vandalized four party offices, even locking one of them."
He further claimed that the police did not take action despite the party filing a complaint immediately after the vandalism occurred.
The Left party continues to assert that the BJP is responsible for the attack, while the ruling party maintains its innocence.
BJP leader Raja Goswami commented, "We were engaged in Ganesh Puja and distributing khichdi. I learned about the attack on the Left party's offices through the media. The BJP has no involvement in this incident."
This latest incident follows a previous attack on a CPI(M) office in Jalpaiguri, north Bengal, where the party alleged that BJP-affiliated miscreants vandalized and set fire to their district office on DBC Road.
The CPI(M) reported that the assailants damaged the gate with sticks and allegedly ignited a fire in front of the party office.
In response to the attack, the CPI(M) has lodged a formal complaint with the police.