Bharati Ghosh, the new spokesman for the BJP, is a former IPS officer who fought against the Naxals and was once known as Mamata “Ma.”
Bharati Ghosh, the new spokesman for the BJP, is a former IPS officer who fought against the Naxals and was once known as Mamata “Ma.”
After a falling out with Mamata and being hit with what she calls “false” criminal cases, the BJP has taken Bharati Ghosh under its fold. As the BJP puts it, Ghosh is a ‘warrior.’
On Sunday, Bharati Ghosh, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who once addressed West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) President Mamata Banerjee as “Ma,” was named national spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
When Mukul Roy, the former national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the two women became estranged.
Ghosh was well-known to be close to Roy, and she announced her voluntary departure in December 2017 for “personal reasons” shortly after his defection from the government. She had recently been demoted from her position as Superintendent of Police of the Naxal-affected West Midnapore district to a less prestigious position as the commandant of the third battalion of the state’s armed police forces, which was a step down from her previous rank. More serious issues arose as a result of this.
Following a series of arrests and charges against Ghosh in 2018, he is currently facing at least 19 criminal charges. These include attempted murder, rioting in public places, leaked government papers, and having disproportionate assets.
According to certain news reports, Ghosh joined the BJP in February 2019 as “revenge” against the TMC. She justified her move as “revenge” against the TMC. While Mukul Roy has subsequently rejoined the TMC, Ghosh’s elevation to the position of national spokesman implies that the BJP is keen to keep her on as a national spokesperson.
This was confirmed by Dilip Ghosh, the BJP’s national vice-president, in an interview with ThePrint. “Bharati is a fighter… Bharati is a fighter…” “We will groom her for employment in the future,” he stated.
From awards to ‘police cases,’ it’s everything here.
She has impressive academic credentials, including an LLB from Burdwan University as well as a Harvard certificate, as well as an extensive professional background that includes service with the United Nations peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bharati Ghosh, 59, is married with two children and lives in Kolkata, India.
The Trinamool chief presented her with a medal in August 2014 for her outstanding service, but she later returned it because her relationship with her had deteriorated due to the Trinamool’s leadership.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted a raid on Ghosh’s home in south Kolkata in February 2018, two months after she had resigned from the government job. The CID is said to have seized approximately 39 litres of foreign booze and shut her residence. Following this, Ghosh began publicly criticizing the Trinamool Congress, accusing the party of filing “false lawsuits” against her to prevent her from joining any political party in the future.
Ghosh joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya, in Delhi, exactly a year after joining the party. During the same election year, Ghosh ran for the Lok Sabha on the BJP’s ticket from Ghatal in West Midnapore, however, he was defeated by TMC candidate Deepak Adhikari aka Dev. Although she was soundly defeated in the election by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes, Ghosh proceeded to ascend in the BJP’s Bengal unit, eventually being appointed as the party’s state vice-president.
Earlier this year, Ghosh ran for the West Midnapore assembly seat in the Debra constituency against TMC candidate Humayun Kabir, who is also a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. This did not stop Ghosh from climbing the ranks, and she was named national spokeswoman for the party in November despite being defeated by Kabir by around 11,000 votes.
According to her election affidavit, she is facing 19 criminal charges, including attempted murder and criminal conspiracy, riots, criminal breach of confidence, fraud, and theft. According to a senior CID official who spoke to The Print, six of the 19 instances were considered “very serious.”
Even though an arrest warrant was served on her, the Supreme Court issued a stay. “The investigations are still ongoing, but the cases are still under consideration,” the spokesman explained.
In contrast, BJP National Vice-President Dilip Ghosh claimed that the government is unfairly targeting the former IPS officer. Our goal is to put more powerful and younger people in leadership roles; Bharati is a warrior.” In 2019, she became a member of our organization and has since been resisting all crimes perpetrated on her and her family. She is unyielding in her refusal to submit. “We will groom her for future positions,” he said in an interview with ThePrint.
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It has been reported that “the vast majority of Trinamool Congress defectors who joined the BJP before, during, and after the 2019 elections, as well as before the 2021 elections, have returned to the party.” Bharati was never an official member of the Trinamool Congress, but she maintained close ties with the party. In addition, he has a close relationship with Mukuru Roy, who recently returned to Trina Mall, saying that “the leader continued”, and as a result, he strives to maintain a person who shows a certain promise like Barati.
Another top BJP leader stated that, despite Ghosh’s defeat, “her campaign was full of action… she is someone who expresses her thoughts and people listen to her.” Ghosh was defeated in the election.
The leader went on to say that Ghosh’s appointment as national spokesperson was designed to send a clear message to the public. A national spokesman for the party said, “Central leadership wants to continue to focus on West Bengal, and her appointment as a national spokeswoman is a message that the party has not left West Bengal despite its retreat. Will help convey? “
The BJP’s continued attention on West Bengal is evidenced by the selection of Dilip Ghosh, a former state president of the party, as national vice-president in September of this year, following his term as state president. It has become even more critical to concentrate on West Bengal as a result of the defection of several BJP legislators and leaders to the TMC. “The BJP wants to send a message to the world that Bengal is important in its grand scheme of things,” claimed another BJP official.
Political violence in West Bengal was also a topic of discussion at the BJP’s national executive conference, which took place in early November.
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, said the party “strongly condemns” the post-election violence in Bengal and that the party would stand by every BJP worker who was victimized. After losing to Trinamool Congress in the recent assembly elections, the BJP’s vote percentage climbed to 38 percent, the party’s national executive meeting was told (from about 10 percent in the 2016 state elections).
Another BJP leader, who did not want to be identified, stated that the party is interested in grooming female leaders in West Bengal to challenge Mamata Banerjee. To further demonstrate her growing power inside the party, Bharati Ghosh has been given a position on the party’s national executive committee. ” Additionally, five West Bengal officials were invited to attend in the meeting, as well. “This implies that the party prefers state politics to be driven by state leaders,” another party leader said.
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
