Even as the six-member BJP fact-finding team alleged violation of human rights at Shibpur in Howrah and Rishra in Hooghly districts where communal disturbances broke out last week Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the saffron outfit for trying to instigate a communal situation by sending “so-called fact finding teams.”
“What is this fact finding team … what use does it have … do you eat it or apply it on your head … what is it … such teams are send ignite trouble as per a decided plan,” the Chief Minister said.
“The BJP is sending teams from Delhi to disturb the peace and harmony in Bengal … whenever any small incident takes place here they send all kinds of teams and commissions from human rights commission to child rights commission to women’s rights commission and what not,” Banerjee said adding these were done by the saffron leadership to keep the situation bubbling so as to derive political mileage out of that.
“There was no communal problem in Bengal … the BJP created it by planning the violence well in advance about a month ago,” Banerjee said attacking “a section of the media” for serving the purpose of the saffron outfit.
“A section of the media is contributing to their nefarious designs by airing fake news … we are keeping a watch on such news and no one serving fake news to create disturbance will be spared …
“In fact I have already directed the Commissioner of Police to take action … If the media attacks me I have no problem. You may have a stand. You may or may not like me but you cannot provoke communal tension like this,” she said.
Earlier the six member fact finding team led by former Patna High Court Chief Justice L Narsimha Reddy, tried to enter the violence hit areas of Howrah and Hooghly but were prevented from doing so.
Subsequently, in its interim report the team said that the riots were “pre-planned, orchestrated and instigated,” before suggesting an investigation by the National Investigation Agency much in line of a public interest litigation filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking an NIA investigation. Violence had broken out last week in parts of Shibpur in Howrah district and Rishra in neighbouring Hooghly district.
According to the report, “The riots which erupted on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami on March 30, and continued in its aftermath, were pre-planned, orchestrated, and instigated. The trigger was the grossly inflammatory speech of the West Bengal Chief Minister.”