Bengal Waqf violence: BJP MP urges Modi govt to impose AFSPA in 4 districts

Kolkata: BJP's Purulia MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the Centre to declare select bordering districts of West Bengal as "disturbed areas" under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), alleging repeated attacks on the Hindu community.

In his letter dated April 13, Mahato alleged that districts such as Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia and South 24 Parganas have witnessed violence against Hindus, with the state administration turning a "blind eye" due to what he called the ruling Trinamool Congress' "appeasement" politics.

He claimed that over 86 Hindu homes and shops were looted or destroyed in Murshidabad district recently and that civilians, including a man named Hargobindo Das and his son, were murdered. In Jhaubona village, he said, betel leaf plantations were set ablaze in what he described as "targeted economic sabotage".

These are not isolated incidents. Similar unrest has unfolded across bordering districts, leaving the "Hindu population vulnerable and voiceless", the MP said.

Referring to violence that broke out over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, Mahato alleged that mobs attacked Hindu homes, public property and even police forces. The Calcutta High Court had to intervene and order central armed police force deployment, highlighting the "state's administrative failure", he added.

Drawing a parallel with the 1990 exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, the BJP MP warned that a similar situation could emerge in Bengal if immediate steps were not taken.

"I most respectfully urge you to consider declaring AFSPA in the bordering districts of West Bengal," he wrote, adding that such a move would help restore law and order, deter future violence and assure Hindus that they are not abandoned.

Mahato concluded the letter with a plea for "decisive action to ensure justice, security and the rule of law." Meanwhile, Ranaghat BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar also wrote to Shah and urged the Union Home Minister to intervene urgently in the light of the "deteriorating" law and order situation in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.

He requested a high-level investigative and monitoring team from the Ministry of Home Affairs and reinforcement of central forces in vulnerable areas.

Sarkar stressed the need for strict legal action against the perpetrators to restore peace and uphold constitutional rights.