NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind and Union home minister Amit Shah have agreed to meet a delegation of lawyers representing victims of post-poll violence in West Bengal on April 29.
According to sources, the President has consented to meet the delegation of lawyers at noon in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Shah will meet the delegation the same day at 9 pm.
Claiming that law and order in the state had completely collapsed, the lawyers will meet the President and the home minister to demand imposition of President's rule in West Bengal.
The lawyers will also hold a peaceful candle march in the national capital on Friday to highlight the “struggle and fight of the affected people of the state”.
Coming together under the banner of ‘Lawyers for Justice’, the organisation said, “The voice for justice for Bengal will now echo in the corridors of Delhi. The fight for justice will now be fought nationally. India will fight for justice. India will fight for Bengal.”
Addressing a press conference in the national capital on Wednesday, convenor of Lawyers for Justice and counsel for the victims of political violence in West Bengal, Kabir Shankar Bose, said, "We will also demand imposition of President's rule in West Bengal for breakdown of law and order and state sponsored violence."
The outfit said lawyers of the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and all district courts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have resolved to raise the issue in New Delhi and pay tribute to the departed souls by holding a peaceful candle march from gate number 6 of Patiala House Court to Tilak Marg, C Hexagon around 5 pm on April 29 to highlight the travails of victims of post-poll violence in West Bengal.
Lawyers for Justice alleged that since 2018, West Bengal has witnessed unprecedented state-sponsored violence targeted against particular groups and persons affiliated to certain groups and communities.
It said, “Post-May 2, 2021 (the day results of the state assembly election were announced), a reign of unprecedented terror, lawlessness and violence was unleashed by goons and anti-socials actively supported by the ruling dispensation and the political party in power in West Bengal. Hundreds of thousands were driven out of their homes. Hundreds murdered. Daughters and mothers of West Bengal were raped. Several lakhs of homes torched, vandalised and looted. West Bengal has witnessed horrific crimes which refuse to abate till date.”
Giving an account of the crimes, it claimed that more than three lakh people have been rendered homeless. They were driven out of their homes because they belonged to a particular religion or were aligned to particular organisations, it said.
“More than 300 murders have taken place since 2016. More than 50 incidents of rape, 127 major sexual assaults, more than 20,000 cases of arson, loot and vandalism, more than 25,000 false cases and over 25,000 internal displacements have taken place since May 2, 2021,” it said.
The organisation further said, “The Calcutta High Court also deemed it fit to direct CBI investigation into the massive human rights violations, murders, rapes, arson, loot and vandalism which occurred after May 2, 2021. SIT was directed to be formed under the supervision of a retired high court chief justice to investigate the crimes not involving murders.”
