BJP team to visit violence-hit areas of West Bengal

Amit Shah on Thursday formed a three-member delegation of MPs to look into incidents of communal violence in Bengal.

New Delhi: Amid the BJP's worsening ties with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, party chief Amit Shah on Thursday formed a three-member delegation of MPs to look into incidents of communal violence in the eastern state.

The delegation, headed by senior party leader Om Mathur, and comprising New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and Baghpat MP Satyapal Singh, will visit violence hit areas of West Bengal to take stock of the ground situation. The delegation will submit its report to Shah.

The members will coordinate with BJP General Secretary and incharge of West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya and state BJP Chief Dilip Ghosh, an official statement of the party said.

The visit comes in the wake of communal clashes in Basirhat sub-division of North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday night over an objectionable Facebook post. Several shops were vandalised, police vehicles torched and roads were blocked by mobs as violence erupted. 

Ghosh has demanded imposition of President's rule in the state and to send central observers to assess the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.

The Chief Minister has accused the BJP of misusing social media to spread rumours leading to communal riots.