New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- In a rare event, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Home Affairs on Wednesday, deliberated on the demand for an urgent discussion, raised by a member of the Opposition Bloc - which has been one of the prime topics of debate on the Floor of the House - on the involvement of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the alleged incidents of police excesses and violence in West Bengal.

With Mamata- led Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien pushing for an early discussion on the issue, he wrote to committee chairperson Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, who is also an Upper House member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party - seeking an urgent discussion on the involvement of CAPF personnel in West Bengal in a three-page letter.

O'Brien, who is part of the 31-member Home Affairs Committee, read out the letter at the meeting and made it clear that the subject could be taken up for consideration, as it concerned the CAPF, which falls within the purview of the Union government.

"Chairman read out a letter which he had got that day, asking for urgent discussion on the role of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the reported atrocities and brutalities of police in West Bengal," O'Brien noted.

However, the other point to note was that members belonging to various political parties - Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), IUML and RJD, including BJP's Tarun Chugh, among others also supported the call for urgent discussion.

But according to sources, the chairman of the Standing Committee on Home Affairs clearly stated that the official subject would not refer to West Bengal but would focus on the role of CAPF. Agreeing to that, while quizzed, O'Brien said, "The chairman stated that the word 'West Bengal' would not be in the formal subject, but everyone understood what the proposed discussion was all about."

The chairman had further suggested that the discussion must not be put off for a long time. "Within a week or 10 days, the discussion had to take place as soon as possible," Agarwal stressed during the meeting.

The three-page letter - submitted by a Trinamool member claims that despite unprecedented use of CAPF in and after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, the incidents of violence could not be prevented and queries the conduct of the forces. "There were excesses on civilians, including women and elderly citizens," it states, seeking summoning of officials from the Union Home Ministry and the CAPF.

Further, sources said that one of the BJP members from West Bengal had brought up issues related to the post-2021 developments in the meeting.

However, he was told by the chairman that he would have his chance of raising the issues when the discussion takes place, but in the meantime the decision was made to put the issue on the agenda for discussion.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.