New Delhi: The West Bengal assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution against the Union government’s decision to extend the Border Security Force (BSF)’s jurisdiction, even as a remark made by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator caused a furore in the house.
West Bengal is the second state after Punjab to pass such a resolution. The BSF is extensively deployed in the border areas of West Bengal as part of its primary mandate to guard the 4,096 km-long India-Bangladesh international border.
According to news agency PTI, the resolution was moved by state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee under Rule 169 of the Procedures of Conduct of Business of the House.
“We demand that this decision be withdrawn immediately as enhancing the area of jurisdiction of the BSF is a direct attack on the country’s federal structure,” he said.
Unruly scenes were witnessed after TMC MLA Udayan Guha claimed that BSF jawans touch women “inappropriately” under the garb of body searches.
“We have seen the kind of atrocities that BSF perpetrates on people. A child who has witnessed his mother being touched inappropriately under the garb of frisking, when she returns from the field, can never be patriotic, no matter how many times you chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ in front of him. These incidents give birth to anti-social elements,” he said on the floor of the House.
BJP MLAs opposed the remark and demanded that it be expunged. However, speaker Biman Banerjee refrained from expunging Guha’s comment.
Guha later told reporters that he just “spoke the truth”.
The BSF has rejected the allegations, saying they are baseless.
Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari opposed the resolution, saying, “When the Union government tries to withdraw central forces from Junglemahal, it is the state government that opposes the move. And now, the same government is opposing BSF activities. Under this new rule (jurisdiction extension), there is no question of conflict between the state police and the BSF,” Adhikari stated.
The resolution was passed with 112 voting in favour of it and 63 opposing it.
The BJP-led Union government had amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
BSF officer rejects allegations
A senior officer of the border force rejected Guha’s charges as “utterly baseless”, according to PTI.
The officer said the paramilitary organisation was a professional force that “has always performed the mandated duties by adhering to the rules and regulations”.
“BSF mahila praharis (women officers) are the ones who frisk females,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)