12 Kolkata: Not a single person involved in communal riots and violence in the name of anti-waqf protests in Murshidabad and Bhangar would be spared, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday, addressing a gathering of imams and muezzins from across Bengal at Netaji Indoor Stadium. She also announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in Murshidabad.
"Those trying to fish in muddy waters, whoever the person irrespective of religion and stature, will not be spared. I will not let Bengal boil," Banerjee said and added, "Remember I am here to support you. Protesting (against the waqf amendment) here is not required. Go to Delhi. Seek appointments with the PM and the President."
Stating that govt was probing the role of "outsiders" in stoking the violence, the CM said, "I do not condone violence. The Bhangar incident was unnecessary. Govt property was damaged, cars were torched in Bhangor. I have received videos from locals saying that Hindus and Muslims there live in harmony but outsiders in BSF-like uniforms but without shoes entered the area, just like in Nandigram. I will probe all of this. The fight is not just yours but also to protect the Constitution and our country." Repeatedly stressing that peace had to be maintained at any cost, Banerjee warned, "If there is no peace, you will be cutting yourself with an axe and helping BJP. If you get agitated, they will win. If you stay calm, you will win. If there is a crisis, you have to overcome it."
The CM also urged the imams and Muslim organisations to choose a democratic means to protest. "Contact everyone across the states. We will be with you. If BJP is instigating, challenge them in court, protest in all democratic processes available," she said.
Banerjee also warned against making comments or posting messages that could affect law and order and urged the community not to get provoked by fake viral content. Besides the Rs 10-lakh compensation for the deceased, the CM announced that those who had lost houses will get new ones under the state's Banglar Bari scheme while the chief secretary would get in touch with those whose shops were vandalised to help them rebuild it. "We don't see religious identities of victims but their pain," she said and added that she would also ask the chief secretary to prepare a report on BSF personnel opening fire.
The family of Jafrabad victims Haragobindo Das and son Chandan, who conducted their last rites on Wednesday, said they would not accept the compensation. "Can the govt bring them back? Money is of no use when we have lost someone so brutally," said Prasenjit Das, a nephew and an eyewitness. A senior official said they would await a formal response from the family because Chandan's son Akash was a minor and Prasenjit was not an immediate kin.