Nearly a month after protests against the Centre’s Waqf law led to violence in parts of Murshidabad district of West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday reached Berhampore, the administrative headquarters of the district, and accused the BJP of spreading a “heavily loaded communal virus in the country”.
Three persons, including a father-son duo, were killed in the violence on April 11 and 12.
Hitting out at the BJP government at the Centre for “encouraging communal tension instead of securing the nation”, the TMC supremo asserted that she would protect communal harmony in the state at any cost.
Speaking to mediapersons outside the District Magistrate’s office here, the chief minister said: “I want peace, not riots. West Bengal is known for its communal harmony, and we will protect that at any cost. I want to ask them (BJP), why is this heavily loaded virus being spread to create communal tension and sell the country?”
Targeting the Centre, the TMC chief said: “Instead of indulging in communal violence, please take care of the borders. Please take care of India. We love India, it is our motherland. Please save the country from any disaster. Please give justice to those who have lost their dear ones. Do not do nasty and dirty politics. I am the last person to tolerate nasty politics.”
Without naming anyone, the chief minister said: “I have seen 10-12 prime ministers in my life. I had worked with them. As an MP, I have seen all of them from close quarters. I am not talking about the PM now, but the ‘acting PM’. Who is the acting PM? I do not know, but I was told by a few students. Perhaps the BJP can answer who he is. I will tell him (acting PM), take care of the borders, instead of creating communal tension and nuisance. Try to be honest, sincere, reasonable, and responsible.”
“When you are in the chair, you cannot divide the people. May there be peace, harmony, and unity,” she added.
Following the April 11 violence, Banerjee had accused Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah of “harming the nation most for his own political agenda” and had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his Cabinet colleague.
Banerjee, who had earlier accused the Border Security Force (BSF), central agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and the BJP of “engineering unrest by facilitating the entry of outsiders and enabling cross-border influx from Bangladesh, on Monday said: “Why the BSF fired shots? If BSF hadn’t fired shots, the incident would not have flared up the next day… Those who are inciting riots are enemies of Bengal.”
The chief minister said that though she came to meet the families affected by the violence, the BJP had taken them away. She was referring to the family of Haragobinda Das, who was killed along with his son Chandan in Samserganj area of Murshidabad during last month’s violence. The Das family, who reached Kolkata a week ago and are living in a Salt Lake residence of a local BJP leader, moved the Calcutta High Court on Monday claiming police intimidation and sought protection by Central forces.
“I came here to meet the victims’ families, but it is not their fault. Why have they been hidden? I will have this question. Does this mean, ‘daal mein kuch kaala hai’ (something suspicious),” she asked.
“Tomorrow, I will be at the BDO office of Suti. If any victims want to come and meet me, they can,” she added.
Alleging that the families of victims have been “forcibly taken away” by the BJP to stop her from meeting them, she said: “I would have gone to their houses (referring to the Das family), but the BJP took away the families of two victims. Is this not kidnapping? What harm would it have caused had I met them and handed over cheques? “I would have given Rs 10 lakh each to two families. Why did you take them away secretly?”
The Das family has earlier publicly rejected the government’s compensation for the victims. Later, the family accepted Rs 20 lakh from BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
Reiterating that the April 11 violence was a “pre-planned conspiracy”, the chief minister said, “There has been chaos in only two wards here. Now, who did this, who conspired, and who executed — are all being investigated… There are two to three people who are creating unrest. They claim to be big religious leaders.”
“If you say that two imams, then let me tell you there is also a sevashram that provokes people from Beldanga to Suti to Dhuliyan. There is no reason to think of me as weak. I have information that during the Waqf protest, they would turn off the electricity. For 48 hours, there was no power. You cannot do this. It is a criminal offence. I respect Bharat Sevashram secretary Dilip Maharaj. He had sent a representative to Jagannath Dham inauguration. They helped us a lot during the Gangasagar Mela earlier this year,” the CM said, reiterating her commitment to uncovering the truth.
Asserting that she was not blaming any community, Banerjee said she had listened to people from both Hindu and Muslim communities. “I have heard both sides, Hindus and Muslims. The chief secretary and DGP were with me. We discussed the communal issue. I won’t blame any community. Some are pretending to be religious leaders and causing harm.”
“I have cross-checked who facilitated this and how they planned it. There are many ‘godi media’ houses, sorry to use the word, but they are consuming what is being fed and provoking people,” she alleged.
The chief minister also criticised the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its alleged selective promptness.
“Did the NHRC go to Manipur, which is under the President’s Rule? Did they visit UP, Rajasthan, Bihar, or Odisha? Why were they so quick to come to Murshidabad?… It was pre-planned,” she said.
“If this was not planned, how did NHRC and BJP leaders reach here so fast?” she asked.
Before leaving for Murshidabad on a two-day visit, the chief minister said: “I could have gone to Murshidabad earlier, but if there is no peace and stability there, we should not go and disturb. Stability has returned to Murshidabad long back. Today, I am going there.”
When asked about the Governor CV Ananda Bose’s report to the MHA in which he said that the “twin spectre of radicalisation and militancy” poses a serious challenge to the state, the chief minister said she was not aware of it. “I have no information about Bose’s report to the MHA. The Governor’s health is not okay. Let us pray to God for his speedy recovery,” Banerjee said in Kolkata before boarding a chopper to Murshidabad.