Kolkata Durga Puja club attacked, BJP-TMC blame game erupts. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Unbalanced reporting / Selective use of sources

Giving somewhat more narrative space and emotional framing to one side without equivalent depth or scrutiny of others.

The article provides detailed narrative about the club members’ experience (injuries, seeking shelter, concern for the Puja) and quotes Arijit Nandi at length, while the police perspective is limited to a brief procedural note and there is no independent verification of either TMC or BJP claims. Examples: - "A clash between two groups at a prominent Durga Puja committee in south Kolkata’s Haridevpur left a few people injured... with club members alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were behind the attack, the police said on Monday." - "Nandi added that he was less concerned about his injuries than the future of the club and its Durga Puja celebrations." - Police are only quoted indirectly: "The Police said several miscreants allegedly entered the Ajeya Sanghati Club premises around midnight and assaulted some members." No follow-up on what the investigation has found so far, or whether any of the political allegations have evidence.

3 suggestions

Include more detail from the police investigation: for example, whether any suspects have been identified, whether political links are being probed, and what preliminary findings (if any) exist.

Balance the emotional narrative of the club members with similarly concrete, factual detail from other sides (e.g., specific actions taken by police, any official TMC or BJP statements beyond individual leaders’ rhetoric).

Explicitly note where claims from any side (club members, TMC, BJP) are unverified or contradicted by available evidence, rather than leaving them as parallel, unassessed assertions.

Appeal to emotion / Narrative fallacy (in quoted statements)

Using emotionally charged or sweeping narrative language to frame a complex issue in a simple, story-like way that may overgeneralize.

The most notable example is in the quote from BJP leader Dilip Ghosh: - "The politics of violence has been going on in Bengal for 50 years. The issue has seeped into the blood of the people. It will take time to get it out." This is a vivid, metaphorical description that frames political violence as something inherent in the people of Bengal, which can shape readers’ perceptions emotionally rather than factually. The article reproduces this without contextualizing it as rhetoric or contrasting it with data or alternative views.

3 suggestions

After such a quote, add a clarifying sentence indicating that this is a rhetorical characterization, not a factual assessment, e.g., "Ghosh’s comments were a rhetorical criticism of Bengal’s political culture; he did not provide specific data to support the claim."

Where possible, add brief context on actual trends in political violence in Bengal (e.g., references to official crime statistics or previous incidents) to ground the discussion in data rather than metaphor.

Avoid adopting the metaphor in the reporter’s own voice; keep it clearly attributed and framed as the speaker’s opinion.

Unsubstantiated claims (in quoted allegations)

Presenting serious allegations without indicating the current level of evidence or verification.

Multiple actors make strong claims that are reported without any indication of whether they are corroborated: - "club members alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were behind the attack" - "Sur said that BJP workers had earlier targeted the homes of Trinamool Congress workers and shut shops, but alleged that the latest incident had taken the political conflict into the club and its Puja preparations." - "He said the BJP had no responsibility or interest in the incident and attributed the violence to Bengal’s long history of political clashes." The article does attribute these statements, but it does not clarify that these are unproven allegations, nor does it mention whether any evidence has been presented or checked.

3 suggestions

Explicitly label these as unverified allegations and note the absence (or presence) of supporting evidence, e.g., "No evidence has yet been made public to substantiate the claim that BJP workers were involved."

Indicate whether the police have commented specifically on the alleged political links, even if only to say that they are investigating all angles.

Where possible, add whether the reporter attempted to contact the accused side (e.g., local BJP workers) for comment, and what response, if any, was received.

Oversimplification / Framing as a binary blame game

Reducing a complex situation to a simple political blame exchange without exploring other plausible factors or nuances.

The headline and some framing language emphasize a "blame game" between BJP and TMC, which can oversimplify the situation: - Title: "Kolkata Durga Puja club attacked, BJP-TMC blame game erupts" Inside the article, Nandi explicitly says: "Nandi said the attack was not related to politics and alleged that outsiders were attempting to take control of the club." This introduces a non-political angle (control over the club), but the headline and framing focus primarily on the political blame narrative.

3 suggestions

Adjust the headline to reflect both the political and non-political angles, e.g., "Kolkata Durga Puja club attacked; probe on as political blame game erupts" or "... amid dispute over control of club."

In the body, more clearly juxtapose Nandi’s non-political explanation with the political allegations, and note that the motive is currently unclear.

Add a brief line indicating that multiple possible motives are being considered (political rivalry, control of the club, local disputes) and that the investigation is ongoing.