Bengal BJP Hit By Party Ranks' Extortion Habit
“There is no reason to think that the culture of extortion will cease to exist here so easily: Mr Ghosh
By : Rajib Chowdhuri
Update: 2026-08-02 15:01 GMT
Kolkata: Barely three months after forming its first government in West Bengal, the BJP is confronting a problem it had promised to eliminate — tolabaji, or extortion.
The issue, long associated with the previous Trinamul Congress regime, has now become a source of embarrassment for the ruling party, with senior BJP leaders publicly warning their own colleagues against falling into the same trap.
On Sunday, state panchayat minister Dilip Ghosh said some party leaders had become “addicted to a new honey” after alleged extortionists shifted allegiance from the TMC to the BJP.
He said the practice would not disappear overnight and added that police had been instructed to act against those involved. Ghosh also warned party workers not to forget why voters had brought the BJP to power.
His remarks came a day after state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya admitted that extortion had not been fully eradicated.
Speaking at an event in Rajarhat, Bhattacharya said the government had been in office for only two months and could not claim to have solved every problem. He acknowledged that some people remained accustomed to earning easy money through syndicates.
The two statements suggest that the BJP is aware of the problem. The bigger question is whether it can clean up the system before the “new honey” becomes an old habit.
On Sunday, state panchayat minister Dilip Ghosh said some party leaders had become “addicted to a new honey” after alleged extortionists shifted allegiance from the TMC to the BJP.
He said the practice would not disappear overnight and added that police had been instructed to act against those involved. Ghosh also warned party workers not to forget why voters had brought the BJP to power.
His remarks came a day after state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya admitted that extortion had not been fully eradicated.
Speaking at an event in Rajarhat, Bhattacharya said the government had been in office for only two months and could not claim to have solved every problem. He acknowledged that some people remained accustomed to earning easy money through syndicates.
The two statements suggest that the BJP is aware of the problem. The bigger question is whether it can clean up the system before the “new honey” becomes an old habit.