WB Panchayat Election 2023: Filmmakers, actors slam bloodbath in Bengal
The panchayat polls in Bengal have been plagued by violence, characterized by acts of ballot box vandalism, bomb-throwing, and clashes between opposing factions in multiple villages. Members of the film industry, including several intellectuals, have come forward and slammed these terrific acts of post-poll violence.
The death toll in panchayat election-related violence in West Bengal rose to 20 on Sunday morning following reports of a fatal stabbing of a Trinamool Congress worker in Malda. The incident occurred in Baishnavnagar on Saturday night following the elections. According to sources, the victim, Matiur Rahman, an active member of the TMC, was attacked and fatally stabbed by a group of men while attempting to cast his vote at a polling station. The ruling TMC has accused the opposition party Congress of being responsible for the murder. In 2018, the opposition claimed that the ruling party won most of the panchayat elections without facing any resistance. According to statistics, Trinamool won 34 percent of the seats without a challenge five years ago. The opposition has made claims of terrorism and vote-rigging. The opposing side maintains that nothing has changed in the picture for this year. On election day alone, at least 18 individuals died. Nobody was excluded from the anti-ruling voters. Calcutta's intellectuals are currently intoxicated by this democratic sham.
Actor Riddhi Sen has taken to social media to protest against the violence that has taken place across Bengal in the name of voting. In his words, 'The dead body of democracy is lying, rotting, the smell is coming out, let the political camps eat meat and rice with that smell, we also fill our stomaches at noon. Let's eat before the smell gets stronger, come, join. (পড়ে থাক গণতন্ত্রের লাশ, পচুক , গন্ধ বেরোক , সেই গন্ধ নাকে নিয়ে মাংস ভাত খাক রাজনৈতিক শিবিরগুলো , দুপুরবেলা আমরাও খাই পেট ভরে l গন্ধটা আরও তীব্র হওয়ার আগে চলুন খেয়েনি , আসুন, যোগ দিন মাংস ভাত খাওয়ায় , আমাদের ভাগাড়ের মাংস l)
Ritvik Chakraborty spoke in the same tone. The actor posted a picture of himself holding a doll on his Facebook page and wrote, 'My little doll is asking questions - When will the police play the police?
If you know the answer, let the poor man know.'
Jayjit Banerjee posed a question to the 'intellectuals' after seeing the death march around the polls. In his words, 'is it a vote? The so-called intellectuals will not get in the way?'. On Saturday, commoners and celebrities alike were concerned about the bloodshed that was unleashed in the name of panchayat elections in West Bengal. Everyone has one question, where is the end of this death march?