Bengaluru: Fishing in troubled waters, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has jumped into the Mangaluru violence issue, hoping against hope to earn some political brownie points. 

Days after Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa announced that he would do a rethink of giving ex-gratia to the next of kin as video footage released showed that the dead in the violence could have been vandals, Mamata announced that her government would provide Rs 5 lakh as ex-gratia to the families of the dead. 

She said, “It is a matter of great shame that a BJP leader of Karnataka who promised financial assistance for the families of those who died during the agitation yesterday said that the agitators are all goons and there will be no assistance for them. Trinamool Congress (TMC) is a poor party but always stands by the people. We will send a delegation of Trinamool Congress’ trade union wing to help those families.”

The BJP, on the other hand, hit back at the CM saying, “It is said the deceased were involved. If it is true, how can you give compensation to them? TMC should not take sides without realising the exactness of the situation. There is nothing political about it. This has to do with the system. This is a highly objectionable trend which she should desist from.” 

A few days ago, video footage was released in which it is aptly clean as to how a stone-laden auto is driven on the roads, facilitating stone pelting. In another video, a youth, trying to obscure his face with a cloth, is seen defacing a CCTV camera. In the third video, a mob places a light pole on the roads, with a wilful intent to stop a police bus. On spotting the light  pole, the driver retracts.