Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the communal violence in Murshidabad as “pre-planned”, accusing Border Security Force, central agencies and the BJP of orchestrating tension by allegedly facilitating outsiders and enabling cross-border influx from Bangladesh.
As reported by PTI, Addressing a meeting with Muslim clerics, Banerjee urged PM 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 Bangladesh, the Centre rushed through the Act and allowed cross-border infiltration, both of which, she alleged, contributed to the unrest in Bengal.
The opposition BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as baseless and demanded Banerjee’s resignation, accusing her of being more focused on ‘appeasement politics’.
Banerjee also alleged that a section of the BSF and certain central agencies under the home ministry played a “role in facilitating the violence”, and ordered a probe into the role of the border force.
“I came across news quoting home ministry sources claiming the role of elements from across the border in the Murshidabad unrest. Is it not the role of the BSF to guard the border? The BSF is under the MHA. The state government does not guard the international border. The Centre can’t evade responsibility,” the chief minister said.
