Criminals should not be forgiven: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Bengal violence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed grief on the violence in Bengal's Birbhum, and said that people should not forgive violent people. "I hope the state government takes strict action against the culprits, and those who encourage such criminals should not be forgiven too," he added. 

As many as eight people - including two children - were burnt to death in the Rampurhat area of West Bengal's Birbhum on Tuesday (March 22) after a mob allegedly set houses on fire following the killing of Trinamool Congress leader Bahadur Shaikh. 

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to President Ramnath Kovind requesting him to invoke Article 355 in view of the killings in Birbhum. “In view of the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal, I request you to invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to ensure that the Government of West Bengal is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution,” The Lok Sabha MP from Berhampore wrote in the letter. 

Earlier, Chowdhury had said that the state’s law and order is worsening day-by-day. “The SIT is of no use. I will meet the President of India over the Birbhum incident, and will suggest to him that he considers (imposing) Article 355 of the Constitution in the state. Law and order is getting worse. People feel unsafe in Bengal,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry sought a report from the West Bengal government. The move came after a nine-member delegation of BJP MPs from West Bengal met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought his intervention and action against the perpetrators of the crime. 

Sources said a fact-finding central team may be sent to the state soon to assess the situation, but there was no official confirmation about it yet. The delegation included Sukanta Majumdar, Dilip Ghosh, Locket Chatterjee, Jagannath Sarkar, Raju Bista, Arjun Singh and others. The delegation also handed over a letter to Shah over the matter. Sukanta Majumdar said, "Mamata Banerjee should be held accountable. She is the Chief Minister. She should resign from her post."