Subsequently, they met West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose to address the situation.Later, a similar fate befell a Congress team led by state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. After a confrontation with police, Chowdhury accused Banerjee of politicising and communalising the issue.”The BJP central team was stopped by police from visiting unrest-hit Sandeshkhali. Police are citing prohibitory orders. We said only four of us would go, but we were not permitted,” said Union Minister Annapurna Devi, the convenor of the team.After being stopped at Rampur village, the six-member delegation of the saffron party began a sit-in.Bhoumik, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, alleged that police were “trying to protect the culprits” and criticised their handling of the situation.”We are Union ministers and MPs, and there are certain protocols. The state police and the administration are not bothered about those protocols. Had police shown similar promptness in arresting Shahjahan Sheikh, the situation would have been different,” Annapurna Devi said, echoing Bhoumik.The BJP’s fact-finding team was prevented from visiting Sandeshkhali under Section 144, leading them to propose sending only two women representatives to the area. However, this request was also denied.”Are we criminals that we have been stopped from entering the area?” BJP state general secretary Agnimitra Paul said.Bengal Congress chief Chowdhury questioned the rationale behind denying access to opposition parties, stating, “Why are opposition parties being prevented from entering Sandeshkhali? What is the state government trying to hide? Why are they trying to politicise it?” His criticism came amidst Banerjee’s allegations implicating the saffron camp in inciting unrest in the area.Responding to Banerjee’s claim that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has a presence in Sandeshkhali, Chowdhury questioned the relevance of the RSS in the ongoing disturbances.
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