The Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs may take up a discussion on the role of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in West Bengal after Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien submitted a proposal to the panel.
O’Brien reportedly handed over a three-page letter to committee chairman and BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agarwal during a meeting on Wednesday. The letter urged the committee to examine what it described as the role of CAPF personnel in alleged incidents involving police action in West Bengal.
According to people familiar with the meeting, Agarwal read out parts of the letter and suggested that the proposed discussion could cover the role of CAPF more broadly rather than focus exclusively on West Bengal.
The issue was raised during a meeting of the committee, which was also considering presentations from the Ministry of Law and Justice on “Crime against Children” and from the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region on the implementation of centrally sponsored schemes in northeastern states.
In his letter, O’Brien referred to the deployment of CAPF personnel during the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. He stated that more than 240,000 CAPF personnel had been deployed during the state polls, compared with around 340,000 personnel deployed across the country during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The letter also claimed that around 700 companies, comprising approximately 70,000 CAPF personnel, remained deployed in West Bengal after the elections. O’Brien argued that the continued deployment was linked to efforts to prevent post-election violence.
According to the report, the TMC MP also claimed that incidents of violence continued after the polls and alleged that TMC workers and supporters were among those targeted.
Several MPs present at the meeting reportedly supported taking up the issue. The committee chairman is understood to have indicated that the matter could be considered in a future discussion.
However, there were differing views during the meeting. BJP Rajya Sabha MP and West Bengal state president Shamik Bhattacharya reportedly raised concerns about alleged incidents during the earlier TMC government’s tenure since 2021. Agarwal is said to have indicated that Bhattacharya would be able to raise those issues if the committee discusses the broader role of CAPF.
The exact date for the proposed discussion has not yet been decided.
When contacted about the meeting, Agarwal said that, as chairman of the committee, he could not disclose details of its proceedings.
The issue comes amid continuing allegations by the TMC and BJP against each other over political violence in West Bengal. Any discussion by the parliamentary committee could provide a forum for members to present their respective claims and seek information from relevant authorities regarding the deployment and functioning of CAPF personnel in the state.
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