Kolkata, Aug 19 (PTI) BJP on Thursday welcomed the Calcutta High Court order directing CBI probe into cases like murder and rape in alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal and hailed it as "a victory of the Constitution".

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The ruling Trinamool Congress in the state hinted at appealing to the higher court.

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Senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari said the verdict proved that the judiciary is the most formidable pillar of the Constitution and democracy.

“The present rulers made Bengal a laboratory for political violence. The country has never witnessed such a scale of political violence since Independence.

"The violence that took place after May 2, the day assembly poll results were declared can only be compared with the violence that took place during Partition. Today's judgement has proved that judiciary is the most formidable pillar of the Constitution and democracy,” Adhikari told reporters.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said the verdict is a moral victory for the victims of the violence, including "mothers and sisters who have been oppressed and deprived by the TMC and the West Bengal government".

"The HC order today for CBI probe into post-poll violence in West Bengal is a victory of the Constitution," he added.

BJP had been alleging violence by the TMC against its party workers and their families since after the April-May state assembly polls.

According to TMC sources, the state government is likely to move to a higher court challenging the order by the HC.

"The court has given an order. We respect the judiciary. But if the CBI comes in in every law and order matter, which is entirely within state government's jurisdiction, it is a transgression of the state's right. I am sure the state government will look into the order and might take a decision to appeal to a higher court if necessary." senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy said.

TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh blamed BJP for inciting violence in the state. "Before the vote, the BJP leaders had made provocative statements such as 'We will kill you and you won't get people to take the bodies to the crematorium'. Every threat is known to all. The BJP has repeatedly made such provoking statements in order to incite violence. They are doing the same now in Tripura," Ghosh said in a series of tweets.

"The HC order cannot be openly opposed. It gave instructions. The government and the party's (TMC) top leadership will respond to the directions. Possible legal aspects will be considered. We think the NHRC report is purely politically motivated. I will not comment on the HC order now," he added.

The West Bengal Congress unit said it was the duty of the state government to stop post-poll violence but it had failed to do so.

“It is true that the state government has failed in its duty to check the incidents of post-poll violence. We hope that it will learn its lesson from the mistakes,” Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya said.

West Bengal CPI(M) welcomed the court's verdict and said the party's views on political violence in the state stand vindicated.

“We welcome the court's judgement. This judgement only vindicates our stand on the decade-long repression and political terror in the state under the TMC rule,” CPI(M) Politburo member Mohammed Salim said.

Calcutta High Court on Thursday ordered a CBI probe into grievous cases such as murder and rape in alleged post-poll violence in West Bengal.

A five-judge bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal also ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all other offences related to the alleged post-poll violence.

The bench said the court will monitor both the investigations and directed CBI and the SIT to submit their reports within six weeks.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)