Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS) The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Tuesday claimed that the brutal and cowardly assault on Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal is not merely an attack on an individual political figure; it is a direct strike against the democratic fabric of our republic.
“A mob armed with stones, sticks, and iron rods encircled her vehicle with what appeared to be a clear intent to eliminate a formidable opposition voice. That she survived is a matter of pure luck, but the incident leaves behind a chilling realisation: the state of political violence in West Bengal has breached all acceptable thresholds,” said the party in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.
The Thackeray camp in an editorial in Saamana said that since the recent shift in political dynamics in the state, leaders of the Trinamool Congress, including MPs and MLAs like Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee, have faced relentless targeting. The contrast in the ruling establishment’s approach could not be starker. “While the central leadership hosts and warmly welcomes defectors, the very leaders who built the political ground in the state are left exposed to life-threatening physical assaults. When the Central government previously cited a collapse of the rule of law in West Bengal to justify its interventions, one must ask: Is this current environment of unchecked hostility and state-sanctioned impunity what they define as the rule of law?”
The editorial further said that during the Assembly elections, the Union administration deployed hundreds of thousands of Central paramilitary personnel under the narrative of ensuring fair procedures and maintaining order. “Today, as targeted political violence escalates, that urgency has conspicuously vanished. The reluctance to deploy necessary Central forces to restore peace exposes a troubling double standard. When former Chief Ministers, sitting Members of Parliament, and elected representatives are repeatedly subjected to street violence, it reflects a total breakdown of institutional governance,” it remarked.
“Equally alarming is the official response from the opposition leadership in the state. Framing a violent, physical assault on a senior political figure as merely a ‘battle between the public and a political party’ is both irresponsible and dangerous. Such rhetoric effectively rationalises mob violence and signals an abdication of state responsibility. By this flawed logic, any public demonstration or grievance, including the protests by youth at Jantar Mantar, could be mischaracterised as a personal conflict between citizens and the Prime Minister, stripping the state of its fundamental duty to maintain order,” said the editorial.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena argued that in a functional democracy, electoral victories and losses are decided at the ballot box, not through iron rods and physical intimidation. Political power demands restraint, accountability, and a commitment to protecting constitutional norms. The current trajectory — where dissent is met with excessive force, student movements are suppressed, and opposition figures face constant physical threats — points towards an environment where non-state actors feel emboldened to enforce political will, it said.
The Thackeray camp claimed that democracy cannot survive if the political opposition is treated as an enemy to be physically eliminated rather than an essential pillar of governance. Permitting violent elements to operate with impunity does not demonstrate strength; it signals a descent into anarchy that will ultimately undermine the very institutions meant to uphold the nation.
–IANS
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