123 Kolkata: From blaming "outsiders" to "police" for the violence, Trinamool Congress's Murshidabad MPs and MLAs on Sunday chose to deflect responsibility, facing questions from their party colleagues. TMC, which has a strong hold in Murshidabad with 20 of the district's 22 MLAs and all three MPs being from the party, has been caught off-guard by the violence. On Sunday, several party MPs and MLAs were on the streets in Suti and Shamsherganj, appealing for peace.
Party seniors and influencers aligned to Trinamool have critiqued on social media the failure of the party's Murshidabad brass in anticipating the flare-up despite the zone's violent history. Explaining his stand, however, Jangipur MP Khalilur Rahaman said the attackers were mainly outsiders. Moreover, he denied knowledge of where they came from. "They might be coming from neighbouring Malda and Nadia districts, via land or water routes," he said.
Farakka MLA Manirul Islam, whose brother's house was attacked by a mob on Saturday, seconded the "outsider" theory. "Such things have never happened in this area. This could not have been possible without the role of outsiders. There might be some insiders involved, but the perpetrators came from outside," said Islam.
TMC Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir, however, chose to blame the police. Saying cops should have been more proactive in the initial phase to prevent the violence, Kabir added: "This is not acceptable in our country. Every citizen, irrespective of his religious beliefs, has the right to live in peace. The attacks are condemnable and are against the spirit of Islam."
"The administration should track and flush out all the vandals and take strict action. Peace must return," Kabir added.
Appealing for peace, Rahaman, said: "We conducted a route march with MLAs to appeal for harmony." He added that cops were actively monitoring the situation.
Kolkata mayor and senior minister Firhad Hakim, who has time and again been tasked by CM Mamata Banerjee to forge unity in the party ranks in Murshidabad, said, "As of now, the situation is normal. People should together and rise above politics. Both Hindus and Muslims were harmed. We have trust in our police. A criminal is a criminal, it does not matter if it is from TMC or BJP. Police are there to control the criminals."