Bengal govt taking all steps to maintain peace: Guv

Stating that Bengal is a lovable and peaceful state, Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi said: "The administration is alert so that harmony and peace is maintained throughout the state in times of provocation and intolerance."

The Governor said this while speaking at the beginning of the Budget Session of the Assembly.

The remarks of the Governor in his speech comes at the time when Opposition political parties were raising the issue of the deterioration of law and order situation in certain places in the state.

Tripathi said: "West Bengal is a lovable and peaceful state. The government is always taking full care of the common people cutting across caste, creed and communities."

He said: "The government provided funding to minorities, Scheduled Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Classes and other General categories for betterment of the lives, education and livelihoods."

"The Budget allocation to the Minority Affairs Department has been augmented to an unprecedented Rs 2,500 crore. Scholarships to the tune of Rs 2,350 crore have been provided to 1.1 crore minority students, which is number one in India," Tripathi further said.

It may be mentioned that the state government had been claiming that disturbances in places like Bhangar took place after the local people were instigated by some outsiders with vested interest.

Similarly, the state government had also condemned the policy of defaming the state by creating law and order problem.

Moreover, from the first day itself MLAs of Congress and Left Front started raising the Bhangar issue.

Interestingly, the police found in its probe that the unrest in Bhangar was outcome of instigation by members of a Naxalite outfit, CPIML (Red Star).