Kaliachak violence: Mamata alleges BJP–AIMIM nexus; lauds CID after arrest of key accused

Siliguri: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Supremo Mamta Banerjee stated that the arrest of the main accused in the Kaliachak judicial officers hostage incident has proved the involvement of AIMIM along with the BJP.

She claimed that the BJP had ‘hired’ him from Mumbai to orchestrate the unrest, which again is part of a larger game plan to clamp down the President’s Rule in Bengal. Banerjee lauded the CID for making the arrest before the NIA.

Incidentally, AIMIM leader Mofakkerul Islam was arrested at the Bagdogra Airport after he was named the main accused in the Kaliachak incident in the Malda district on April 1, where protesters had held

judicial officers hostage for hours, before they were rescued. Islam allegedly had given provocative statements arousing the mob.

Mamata Banerjee, on a campaign trail in North Bengal, addressing a packed Hazaripara Ground in the Harirampur Assembly Constituency in South Dinajpur, on Friday, stated: “Our CID has arrested the main accused. He was fleeing to Bangalore from Bagdora Airport. He had come from Mumbai. The BJP

had hired this AIMIM person from Mumbai. The ISF is hand in glove with them. BJP and Congress had also provoked. This was the modus operandi in Bihar elections also. They had split votes in this way to ensure BJP’s victory.”

She stated that the incident in Malda was orchestrated by them.

“CID, which is still under me and not under the Election Commission, arrested him from Bagdogra even before the NIA arrived,” lauded the TMC chief.

She stated that the BJP is anti-Bengal. “Migrant labourers are being burnt to death in BJP-ruled states. One such incident occurred on Thursday in Rajasthan, where a migrant worker from Malda was murdered and his body burnt. Migrant labourers are being stopped from returning home to cast their votes. They are being stopped at railway stations and bus terminuses in BJP-ruled states. They are being arrested for speaking in Bengali,” added Banerjee.

She stated that soon the BJP would be tabling a Delimitation Bill in Parliament. “They will divide Bengal again. Along with Murshidabad, Malda, Dinajpur, Siliguri and a slice of Bihar, they have plans to create a new state. Do you want this? If you want to save Bengal, your identity, address, language, culture and food habits, get rid of BJP like you get rid of appendices from your body. It comes to no use except causing pain,” prescribed Banerjee.

She advised the TMC candidates to field dummy candidates so that if the nomination papers are cancelled, then the BJP won’t get an empty field to score. “We have to foil each and every sinister design of the BJP,” stated Banerjee.

She addressed three campaign rallies at South Dinajpur, Raiganj stadium in North Dinajpur and Habibpur in Malda on Friday.

On Saturday, Banerjee will address election campaign meetings at Manickchak, Ratua and Gazole, all in Malda. She will also hold a rally in support of TMC candidate Asish Kundu in the English Bazar constituency of Malda. The rally scheduled to commence at 3 pm will start from below Rabindranath Tagore’s statue and pass through Fowara More, Netaji More, Fulbari Pakurtola More and end at Kabi Shukanto More.