Senior Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien lashed out at BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda on Tuesday after the latter accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of lawlessness following the death of senior BJP MLA Debendra Nath Ray, who was found hanging outside a tea shop in his constituency on Monday
“BJP’s national president himself is also spreading fake news. He is competing with his IT troll ring leaders. Jumping to conclusions without facts in desperation to score political points. Instead, he would do well to stand by the deceased’s family. Every death is a tragedy. Sad,” O’Brien tweeted.
Ray was found dead on Monday outside a local tea shop. He was hanging, and West Bengal police tweeted that they found a suicide note in his front pocket, where he had named two people responsible for his death.
The BJP, however, took to Twitter to condemn the incident, claiming that Ray was murdered and subsequently hanged.
Ray had contested and won the Hemtabad assembly segment -- a reserved seat for Scheduled Castes -- on a CPI(M) ticket but had switched over to the BJP last year after the Lok Sabha polls. He, however, did not resign as CPI(M) legislator in the state assembly.
The state BJP leadership termed Ray's death, as "cold-blooded murder" by the ruling Trinamool Congress party. "This is a cold-blooded murder by the goons of the TMC. The TMC was wary of Ray's popularity in the area. We want an independent inquiry to bring out the truth. You can very well understand the state's law and order situation when even an MLA is not safe," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.
Refuting the allegations, senior TMC leader and district president Kanailal Agarwal, said it was for the police to investigate the cause of Ray's death. "It is for the police to decide the cause of his (Ray) death. Whether he committed suicide or there is something else... is for the law to decide. I won't comment on it," Agarwal said.
Ray's death has brought back memories of two BJP activists who were found hanging near their homes in Purulia district after the 2018 Panchayat polls in the state.
