TMC alleges NCW plotted against them, commission claims women were coerced to withdraw allegations.

The city of Kolkata and the capital, New Delhi, were abuzz with political drama as the ruling TMC party accused NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma of abusing her power and being involved in a conspiracy in the town of Sandeshkhali. It was alleged that the women of the area were deceived by the opposition BJP party into filing false sexual assault complaints against TMC leaders. The NCW, on the other hand, claimed that the women were coerced into withdrawing their complaints.

In response to the TMC's accusations, West Bengal minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja announced their intention to file a complaint against Sharma with the Election Commission. Panja accused Sharma of acting with political bias and encouraging women in the area to make false allegations of sexual abuse. Later in the day, the NCW wrote to the poll panel, requesting an inquiry into the matter and stating that the women were being forced to retract their complaints by TMC workers due to the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

The NCW chairperson, Rekha Sharma, had visited Sandeshkhali in February and recommended to President Droupadi Murmu that President's Rule be imposed in West Bengal due to alleged atrocities on women and violence in the town. The TMC released multiple videos on Thursday, claiming that a local leader of the BJP party had made the women of Sandeshkhali sign blank papers, which were later filled with complaints of sexual assault. The women in the videos revealed that they were then asked to appear before the NCW team, who had come to take stock of the situation. These women claimed that they never intended to lodge such complaints and were surprised to find them filed in their names.

The TMC spokesperson accused the BJP of trying to create an "ecosystem" of allegations of atrocities in Sandeshkhali and using various organizations for this purpose. She also pointed out that although the BJP's central leadership regularly visited West Bengal for election campaigns, they had stopped talking about Sandeshkhali in light of the recent developments.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee expressed his disappointment with the NCW, stating that it had turned into the BJP's commission. He compared this situation to the Pulwama conspiracy of 2019 and accused the BJP of hatching a plot to defame the TMC and the people of West Bengal. The NCW, in their letter to the poll panel, requested them to ensure that women were not forced to withdraw their complaints under threat from TMC workers, potentially impacting the fairness of the election process in the area.

Since last Saturday, three videos have been released by a portal, with the first one showing a man claiming to be a BJP mandal president in Sandeshkhali, stating that the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was behind the conspiracy. The second video featured women who had previously filed rape complaints, claiming that they were made to sign blank papers by BJP leaders and coerced into going to the police station. The third video showed BJP candidate from Basirhat constituency and Sandeshkhali protestor Rekha Patra denying any knowledge of the rape survivors who were taken to Delhi to meet the President.

The BJP dismissed TMC's claims as baseless and accused them of circulating fake videos. A spokesperson for the BJP in the state, Samik Bhattacharya, stated that the TMC was trying to change the narrative ahead of the polls by using doctored videos. He also accused the TMC of having no regard for the NCW or the dignity of the women of Sandeshkhali.

The town of Sandeshkhali, situated on the borders of the Sundarbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata, had been in turmoil in February due to protests over allegations of sexual abuse and land grab against TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters. The situation has now escalated with both the TMC and BJP trading accusations and the NCW getting involved in the matter. The NCW has requested the Election Commission to look into the matter on priority and ensure that women are not forced to withdraw their complaints due to threats from TMC workers.

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