West Bengal: BJP to boycott Speaker's election, not attend Assembly over post-poll violence

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Kolkata: West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh Friday (May 7) said that party legislatures will boycott the election for the speaker in West Bengal assembly and its newly elected lawmakers will not attend the House till the post-poll violence in the state is controlled.

The speaker's election is slated for Saturday.

"We will not attend the speaker's election tomorrow. We will also not attend the sessions of the House," Ghosh told reporters at the state assembly.

He also said, "We will not come to the assembly till our MLAs get full protection. We will only come when our MLAs will be able to walk alongside our workers".

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday said that 16 persons -- both from Trinamool Congress and the BJP and one from the ISF had lost their lives in the post-poll violence in the state. The results were declared on May 2.

"We will expect that the government will take initiative to stop the violence and compensate those affected in the violence," Ghosh added.

Banerjee had announced that family members of each of those killed in the violence after the eight-phase election in the state will be given Rs 2 lakh each by the government as compensation.

A four-member fact-finding team of the union home ministry is visiting the state to look into the reasons for the post-poll violence.

They met the West Bengal chief secretary, home secretary and director general of police at the state secretariat and met Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday seeking a report on the violence.

The union home ministry has asked Dhankar to give a report on the law and order situation in the state, particularly the violence that took place following the declaration of the election result.