Dismissing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s request, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has decided to visit violence-hit areas of Murshidabad on Friday morning. Raj Bhavan officials said that the Governor might leave for Murshidabad Thursday night itself.
After returning from Delhi on Thursday morning, Governor Bose met a delegation of BJP leaders, led by state unit chief Sukanta Majumdar at Raj Bhavan.
Majumdar was accompanied by a group of people who allegedly had to flee their homes after last Friday’s violence during the protest against the newly enacted Waqf law.
After meeting the violence-affected families, Bose told mediapersons: “I am going to Murshidabad to see for myself the ground realities. I will have an objective view of the matter. The situation has been brought under control. We should take further steps to prevent similar instances in future. I will certainly visit Murshidabad. People from the area have requested to have a BSF camp there.”
The Governor also said that during his visit to Delhi, he had submitted a report on Murshidabad violence to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
“Have already sent a report on Murshidabad (violence) to the Union Home ministry. Now, I will visit Murshidabad to assess the ground situation there,” Bose said.
After coming out of Raj Bhavan, BJP leader Majumdar said the Governor told them that he wanted to meet people affected by the violence. “He (Bose) spoke with the affected families and listened to their problems. The Governor assured them that he would do everything for their security.”
In the meantime, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, when asked about the Governor’s plan to visit Murshidabad, urged Bose to defer the trip.
Addressing a press conference at state secretariat Nabanna, the CM, in reply to a question on the Governor’s plan, said: “I would appeal to the Governor to wait for a few more days. The situation in Murshidabad is becoming normal with confidence-building measures. The immediate task is to work on confidence-building measures…”
“I am also not going there because people need time. I could have gone there, but then others would have also said they would visit. The situation is not conducive now. I will visit the district at an appropriate time,” she added.
However, the Governor’s office late Thursday evening said there was no change in the plans and as decided earlier, Bose would reach Murshidabad on Thursday night.