BJP's West Bengal chief has kicked off a major controversy by saying that Trinamool Congress leaders will be put behind bars or killed in encounters.
Known for dishing out threats, Dilip Ghosh said, "every bullet will be made to count" during his address to a protest rally outside the district administration office in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday.
He also alleged that the officers of the district take orders directly from Trinamool Congress and its chief, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"If Trinamool leaders indulge in hooliganism they will be either in jail or eliminated in encounters," he said.
Referring to an iconic scene in Bollywood movie Sholay, he asked: "Remember how Gabbar Singh eliminated his three associates who let him down?"
"Same will happen here. The bullets will be counted and given and the bodies will be counted after the shooting," Ghosh added.
The police have filed a case against Ghosh and three others for illegal assembly, violating prohibitory orders, obstructing government officials and threatening policemen.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress leadership in Jalpaiguri has demanded that Ghosh should be put behind bars.
"He has spoken like a terrorist and not like a politician in a democracy," says Gautam Deb, a minister in the state government.
Local MLA and minister Rabindranath Ghosh also expressed shock at the choice of words used by Ghosh.
Responding to the registration of cases against him, Dilip Ghosh brushed them aside nonchalantly. "There are many cases against me. How does it matter if there are few more," was his response.
It was clear from his speech that Ghosh was targeting Trinamool Congress' Birbhum chief Anubrata Mondal.
Mondal is also known to give fiery speeches which include threats of violence. Even Mamata Banerjee has tried to rein him in for his incendiary statements like "go and bomb the police".
This isn't the first time that Ghosh has landed himself in trouble. He had earlier threatened to behead people who shout pro-Pakistan and anti-national slogans.
Before the panchayat elections were held, he had claimed that the fight for elections would not end at polling booths but would reach crematoriums.
He had once also said that BJP could drag Mamata Banerjee by her hair for opposing demonetisation.
