KOLKATA: BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari declared on Tuesday that if the party comes to power in West Bengal, it will establish a commission to investigate the alleged atrocities in Sandeshkhali and send Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to jail.

“Banerjee, you have asked people to forget the past, but the people of Sandeshkhali will never forget, nor will I. If the BJP comes to power, we will form a commission to probe the events in Sandeshkhali. You framed the women of Sandeshkhali and sent them to jail. BJP will send you to jail for lodging false cases against women,” Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in Bengal, said.

He further added, “We will seek justice as per the law, within the bounds of the Constitution,” speaking during a BJP outreach program in Sandeshkhali, a day after Banerjee visited the area in North 24 Parganas district.

Adhikari accused Banerjee of plotting to file false cases against women ahead of the 2024 elections to punish those protesting against TMC’s local leaders like Shahjahan Sheikh.

His remarks came a day after Banerjee suggested people “let bygones be bygones” during her visit to Sandeshkhali, marking her first trip to the region since violent protests erupted in February 2024 over allegations of sexual assault and land grabbing by TMC leaders.

“I know that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the protests, and money was involved. People later realized it was all a lie. The truth always comes out. Let bygones be bygones,” Banerjee had stated on Monday.

The BJP has been using Sandeshkhali as a key issue for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, particularly in the Basirhat constituency. The TMC, in turn, accused Adhikari of orchestrating a conspiracy and paying women to frame local TMC leaders with false sexual assault charges to defame Bengal ahead of the polls.

The TMC had won the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat, of which Sandeshkhali is an assembly segment.

Adhikari, speaking to the media after the rally, claimed people were tortured by Banerjee’s goons and the state police. “We will make Banerjee the former chief minister and send her to jail,” he said.

The TMC, however, dismissed Adhikari’s statements. “The BJP will never come to power in West Bengal, not in the next 100 years. Anyone can say anything without consequences, but these statements hold no political value. For years, they’ve been claiming they will come to power, yet their seats are dwindling,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, TMC state vice president and spokesperson.