Kolkata, May 21 (UNI) The Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP in West Bengal are embroiled in a heated war of words over the alleged involvement of outsiders in last month's riots in Murshidabad that left three people dead and several others injured.
The exchange of accusations intensified after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged local residents to remain vigilant, claiming that individuals from other states were entering the area, gathering personal information from locals, and then leaving.
“Many are coming from outside and taking voter card and Aadhaar card details. This has happened to several members of our party. Everyone needs to stay alert so that no terrorist from outside can take shelter here. Also, no one should be able to extract information from people by spreading falsehood,” said the Chief minister in an administrative meeting in North Bengal.
“Don’t share any personal details with anyone hastily. First check if the person is authentic. Such miscreants have already been caught. The police have acted in Jhargram, Malda, Cooch Behar, Kolkata, and Diamond Harbour,” she added.
The Chief Minister’s response came shortly after BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar demanded that she apologise to the people of the state for allegedly misleading them by claiming that the riots in Murshidabad were instigated by outsiders.
“Following the submission of a report by a committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court, it has been revealed that a local Trinamool councillor and the MLA were involved in the riots. This directly contradicts Mamata Banerjee’s claim that the violence was instigated by outsiders, making her statement completely false. She owes an apology to the people of Bengal,” Majumdar said.
Majumdar was referring to a report by a committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court to identify and rehabilitate victims of violence linked to the anti-Waqf protests in West Bengal's Murshidabad district. The report stated that local police were "inactive and absent" during the incidents in Dhulian on April 11and a local councillor played a key role in directing the attacks in Dhulian town.
The panel comprised Joginder Singh, registrar (law) of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Satya Arnab Ghosal, member secretary of the West Bengal Legal Services Authority (WBLSA), and Saugata Chakraborty, registrar of the West Bengal Judicial Service (WBJS). It submitted its report to the Calcutta High Court last week.
The report followed their visit to the affected areas and interactions with victims, as instructed by the division bench overseeing the case.
The High Court had ordered the formation of the committee on April 17 to identify and rehabilitate those displaced by the violence during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad district.
The violence in Murshidabad escalated during protests against the amendments to the Waqf Act last month, resulting in intense clashes between protesters and police that left three people dead and several others injured.
Many vehicles, including police vans, were torched, roads were blocked, and security personnel came under attack from stone-pelting mobs.
The situation worsened to such an extent that the Calcutta High Court had to intervene, directing the deployment of Central security forces to restore law and order.
Trinamool Congress, however, strongly reacted against the allegations raised by the main opposition party in the state.
"BJP's political propaganda on the Murshidabad incident is provocative and politically-motivated. What happened in Murshidabad is condemnable, nobody supports it. Following the unrest, the CM, state administration, and police have fulfilled all their duties -- be it compensation or rehabilitation,” Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
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