West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari travelled to Murshidabad by road on Friday, as incessant rains forced him to cancel his scheduled journey by air. This was his first visit to the district after assuming office. Heavy monsoon showers lashed a large part of West Bengal, with Cooch Behar in the northern parts of the state receiving the highest 143 mm of rain in 24 hours till Friday morning.
The chief minister’s travel plans were revised due to adverse weather conditions, and the road travel was approved after proper arrangements were put in place. According to a senior officer, the decision to travel by road was made after reviewing the situation and ensuring necessary security and logistical arrangements. During his visit, Adhikari is scheduled to attend an organisational meeting of his party at a hotel in Berhampore, followed by an administrative review meeting at Rabindra Sadan there.
He is also slated to address a party meeting in Rejinagar later in the day. The Rejinagar programme assumes political significance as the constituency is a stronghold of Aam Janata Unnayan Party founder Humayun Kabir, who recently came under fire for his alleged disparaging and inflammatory remarks. Adhikari had previously lashed out at Kabir in the Assembly, accusing the Nowda MLA of making inflammatory statements to polarise voters for a bypoll.
Responding to the chief minister’s statement, Kabir later clarified that his remarks were not directed against the government, but against those who became BJP leaders in Murshidabad after the Assembly poll results and were threatening him. The visit comes amid speculation about Kabir’s possible arrest, as two criminal cases have been initiated against him at the Shaktipur and Rejinagar police stations. Adhikari had announced that he would visit Murshidabad within a week.
