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“Let the tandava of violence end”

Marcus Dam

Governor’s appeal to political parties

“Not a day passes without someone somewhere being killed for politics”
“Duty of political leaders to tell their followers to stamp out these fires”

KOLKATA: Regretting the “veritable tandava [dance] of political violence” West Bengal has been witnessing in recent months, Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, in a strongly-worded statement issued here on Thursday, called upon political leaders across the spectrum to prevail upon their followers and supporters to “stamp out the fires” breaking out across the State.

Responsibility

As for the responsibilities of the State government, he expressed confidence that it would “move swiftly to check the phenomenon of illicit arms, act to rapidly bring the perpetrators of violence to account and instil confidence among the people that their politics and their security are not linked.”

“Not a day passes without someone somewhere being killed for his politics. The widow’s wail rends each day,” Mr. Gandhi observed.

Intervention

Leaders of parties including those of the Left Front, the Trinamool Congress and the Congress have been calling on Mr. Gandhi over the past few days seeking his intervention to stem the violence raging in the State.

“When the leading political formations of West Bengal have the same objective why should violence not abate?,” the Governor asked. “Because, I believe, those who can act are not doing so” was his conclusion.

“Three fires burn in the political life of our State,” Mr. Gandhi noted. They were “of fear, of the agony of bereavement, of rage.”

Identify the violent

“It becomes the duty of our State’s political leaders to tell their followers and supporters that they must stamp out these fires. It becomes their duty to see that none provokes or gets provoked by violence into further violence. It becomes their duty to identify the violent within their own organisations and leave them to be dealt with by the law. This responsibility lies with all political leaders right across party divides,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Extend cooperation

“Yesterday [Wednesday] the delegation of the Left Front MLAs asked me to ‘extend necessary cooperation to the State government in all possible ways for the protection of life, property and democratic rights of the people of the State.’ I have done so in the past and consider it to be my duty to do so again and again. I believe that all of us must do our duty,” the Governor added.

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