Instead of spreading ‘communal virus’, ‘guard borders’: Mamata tells Centre

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BJP of spreading a “heavily loaded communal virus in the country”, and also urged the Centre to protect the country’s borders and deliver justice to families affected by the Pahalgam terror attack, rather than indulge in alleged “nasty and dirty politics”.

Banerjee also stated that she has no knowledge about Governor CV Ananda Bose’s report on the riots to the Ministry of Home Affairs, nor of his mention of the possible implementation of Article 356 in the state.

Visiting the riot-hit Murshidabad district for the first time since clashes broke out in April over the new Waqf law, Banerjee alleged that the BJP was “shielding” those responsible for the violence and “preventing” the affected families from meeting her.

Terming the violence in Murshidabad as ‘orchestrated’ and ‘well planned’, she fired off a political salvo at the BJP-ruled Centre, accusing it of “creating communal tensions”.

She added: “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.”

Speaking on the Governor’s report to the Centre, before boarding the helicopter to Murshidabad, Banerjee said: “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.”

Asserting that the situation in Murshidabad has stabilised, Banerjee 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 long back and so I am going there,” she remarked.

The Governor’s report to Union Home minister Amit Shah flagged rising radicalisation and communal polarisation, administrative collapse and lack of coordination between state agencies, recommendations for a Commission of Inquiry, permanent BSF-CAPF outposts and tighter border surveillance. There was also a reference to Article 356 (President’s Rule) as a potential measure if the situation worsens.

Banerjee said that she had been inquiring into the events that led to the violence in the district and would unravel the chronology after gathering all evidence.

“Why did the BSF fire shots? If BSF hadn’t fired shots this violence would not have happened,” she added. Referring to Amit Shah as the “acting Prime Minister”, without taking his name, she said: “Everybody knows who the acting prime minister is,” she warned the ruling dispensation at the Centre, claiming that those on administrative positions should not discriminate on religion.

“If you are occupying a chair, you cannot divide the people of two communities. Don’t play nasty and dirty politics. Try to be honest, sincere, and reasonable when you are in your chair. Peace and communal harmony should prevail,” she said.

Further stepping up her ante in attack to the BJP, Banerjee accused them of ‘forcibly’ shifting the family of the Murshidabad riot victims to Salt Lake. “I came here to meet the two women (the wives of the father and son who were murdered). I wanted to hand over the cheque for Rs 10 lakh that we had promised. But they are not here. Why? Is something cooking,” she asked.

It is learnt that both the widows had come to Kolkata and the family had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI probe into the murders at their home in Samserganj.

On April 8, protests over the Waqf Amendment Act escalated into a communal riot that claimed three lives, including the father-son duo of Hargobind Das and his son Chandan and forced scores to flee their homes. Banerjee also lashed out at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) questioning the panel’s priorities in view of the recent visit to Murshidabad.

“How could the NHRC reach the next day? They did not have time to visit Manipur, which is burning for two years. They did not visit Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha or Delhi where so many people lost their lives. In Bengal they reached the very next day,” she said.

The Chief Minister will meet the strife-affected people at the BDO office in Suti on Tuesday and will hold a distribution programme at Samsherganj.

Banerjee on Monday also held a meeting with party functionaries of the Murshidabad district, stressing the need to maintain peace, communal harmony and preserve the district’s rich cultural heritage.