Kolkata: BJP does not endorse ‘dim-ocracy’ and it is tarnishing the state’s image, Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Monday.“This is not a model to register your protest in BJP. We have condemned this and we are condemning it. Why should any BJP worker throw eggs?” he said. Bhattacharya’s words came days after he sounded a caution to BJP workers against any violence, saying that pelting eggs cannot be a “model for protest”.The entire nation is watching how eggs are being pelted, Bhattacharya said. “This is a loss of face for West Bengal. This must stop now,” he added.While strongly condemning the incidents of egg-pelting and heckling of Trinamool netas, BJP maintained that its workers were not involved in the attacks. The party described the “hostile crowds” as a “spontaneous expression of public anger and resentment toward TMC’s governance”.Trinamool’s Abhishek Banerjee, Kunal Ghosh, Sougata Ray, Udayan Guha and Sabyasachi Dutta have faced repeated egg attacks. Several TMC functionaries in the districts charged with corruption have also been at the receiving end.State municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Paul, who had termed the incidents as “dim-ocracy”, said it was a natural outburst of public frustration against alleged misgovernance and corruption. However, Paul had also maintained that BJP workers will not take law in their hands. Another state minister, Dilip Ghosh, had also taken a jibe at the price of eggs being connected to an increase in demand for eggs by angry mobs.While Bhattacharya acknowledged the growing public discontent against TMC, he urged the state administration to investigate the issue and called for an end to political violence. “The administration should look into this. This is not something we approve of,” he said.Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said those involved in pelting eggs were not BJP workers. “They are not BJP workers. It is another disgruntled faction of TMC who are using the opportunity to vent their anger against corrupt netas. Trinamool should resolve it now. There are other ways of protest and people will have to follow that instead of taking law in their hands,” he said.Bhattacharya also felt that TMC netas should protect their functionaries from such attacks. “Those who are being targeted were seen with hundreds of followers even a few months back. They moved with police protecting them. Where are they now? They should come out and protect their own men,” he said.
