Murshidabad riots: Opposition holds Mamata responsible for

The opposition parties questioned the West Bengal Chief Minister for her failure to visit affected areas.

Kolkata, Apr 16 (PTI) Opposition parties in West Bengal on Wednesday held Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee responsible for the recent Murshidabad riots and questioned her failure to visit the affected areas.

Leader of opposition in state assembly, Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP demanded an NIA probe into the communal violence in the Muslim-majority district and demanded the CM's resignation over the riots.

"We demand the immediate resignation of the CM, who has squarely failed to protect the lives and property of people from attacks by jihadi elements. A father-son duo was brutally murdered for being Hindus by jihadis who don't know the contents of the Waqf (Amendment) Act. These jihadi elements are having a free run in the state because of appeasement politics of TMC," Adhikari alleged, while speaking to reporters.

He claimed that the police failed to reach on time to protect Hindus, who were murdered, their houses and properties vandalised, and it shows "inaction" by the administration during the violence.

"The CM is blaming the BSF and the central agencies for the violence but in reality, her police and administration failed to protect Hindus and allowed the mayhem to continue. On the other hand, it was the Border Security Force that stepped in and prevented the situation from worsening. She should have some courage to speak the truth," the BJP MLA from Nandigram said.

On Banerjee accusing him of making inflammatory statements, Adhikari said, "She had earlier also blamed me in a similar fashion, but I don't care."

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said that Banerjee's criticism of Union Amit Shah is "unwarranted" as he "earned the praise of crores of Indians for effectively handling the security of the country".

"By criticising Shah, the CM has exposed herself before the common people of the country as Shah practises a no-nonsense approach towards militancy and jihadi activities," he said.

Slamming Banerjee, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said despite winning from several assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Murshidabad district, the TMC lawmakers failed to contain the violence and some even had to flee their homes.

The former Berhampore MP and ex-president of state Congress said, "You (CM) are issuing statements from Kolkata about the violence but haven't been able to visit the affected areas -- Samserganj, Suti, Dhulian, Jangipur – to date."

"Your MPs and MLAs, who make tall claims on other occasions, are not seen with the affected people at this time of crisis," he said.

Chowdhury said despite losing in recent polls, Congress leaders and workers are standing beside the affected people and he had himself visited some areas.

"You (Mamata) profess politics of division which has led to this situation. There are things beyond politics. It is called humanity. Congress will never leave the field, irrespective of its electoral loss or victory," he said.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said Banerjee's call to the INDIA bloc to unitedly fight against communalism and religious bigotry is "hypocritical".

"On one hand, she is setting up Jagannath temple (in Digha), and on the other she is cosying up to fundamentalist forces in border areas. Why did her administration take so much time to contain the violence in Murshidabad in the initial stages? She is pursuing dangerous vote-bank politics," the Marxist leader alleged.

He asserted that the CPI(M), which is also an INDIA bloc constituent, is serious about fighting communalism.

"Will the CM explain why some of her party colleagues abstained during debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament?" he asked.

"The TMC is yet to make it clear whether it will support any legal step against the passage of Waqf (Amendment) Act," he said.

During a meeting with Imams earlier in the day, Banerjee termed the recent communal violence in Murshidabad as "pre-planned" and accused a section of the BSF, central agencies under MHA, and the BJP of fanning tension by allegedly facilitating cross-border influx from Bangladesh.

She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to implement the "atrocious" Waqf (Amendment) Act, warning that it would divide the country, and requested him to rein in Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whom she accused of "harming the nation most for his own political agenda".

The TMC supremo claimed that despite the volatile situation in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Centre rushed through the Waqf (Amendment) Act and allowed illegal cross-border infiltration, both of which, she alleged, contributed to the unrest in Bengal.