Apparently holding out a self-contradictory narrative on the Murshidabad riots Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asked the people to agitate against the Waqf laws in Delhi — for the Centre and not the State had amended the statutes — and refrain from rioting in Bengal even as she continued to sledge hammer the BJP for inciting the April violence that left three dead, dozens injured and about a thousand homeless.
Asking the people to remain united and not step into the provocative traps of the “mischief mongers whose only job is to stoke communal disturbance,” Banerjee said: “I do not want riots in Bengal, more so in Murshidabad because there was no impact of Babri demolition in 1992 though it had affected the other districts of the State,” adding “if you engage in riots then I will have to be very tough, I will not stand by you, your Didi will not stand by you, if you have issues with the Waqf laws then you agitate in Delhi and not here because we have not made it and we will not let it be implemented here, like we did not allow Citizenship Amendment Act of National Register for Citizens to be implemented in Bengal.”
Referring to blood donation camps she said, “when a blood donation camp takes place, people write their name, age, etc. That blood is sent to the blood bank, and then the name is also removed. That same blood is transfused to Hindus, Muslims, or Christians; it is given to people irrespective of their religion… remember this before indulging in riots,” asking the people to loudly take a collective vow that “we will not engage in riots,” making the
people parrot her. As her speech made it apparent as to who had engaged in riots that left three dead and many homeless for several weeks and properties being vandalised and torched the Chief Minister hit out at the BJP and some religious leaders for instigating communal disturbance.
“Outsiders come and incite riots…so I request you do not listen to the BJP and get instigated. Don’t get instigated; don’t divide people. If you do these things, then throw me out of your heart. I don’t want riots; I don’t like riots … Don’t be swayed by the BJP or any fundamentalist organisation. Instead of dividing yourselves, separate my throat from my body. This will make me happier,” Banerjee who announced having earmarked `1.20 lakh for the riot affected families each said.
The Chief Minister also announced the formation of three sub-divisions in the towns of Suti, Dhuliyan, and Farakka for “better administration.”
Referring to oft raised allegations that Durga Pujas and Saraswati Pujas were not allowed to be organised in many parts of Bengal Banerjee swore by her love for all the religions saying “often they allege that in Bengal we don’t allow Durga Puja… If in Kolkata there is no Durga Puja, then where is it done? … remember I love all religions… which is why I take part in all the festivals.” Banerjee had on Monday slammed one “acting Prime Minister” for pulling the strings from behind in order to polarise the electorate by instigating communal riots ahead of the next year’s elections.
She said, “don’t play dirty and nasty politics. I am the last person to tolerate this. I am not talking about the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), but the ‘acting-Prime Minister’. Who is the ‘acting Prime Minister’ of this country? I don’t know. BJP can reply to this question,” she said adding “instead of taking care of communal riots and trying to create nuisance, take care of the borders. Try to be honest, sincere and reasonable. When you are in the chair, you can’t divide the people.”
On a similar occasion the Chief Minister had earlier attacked Union Home Minister Amit Shah and even appealed to the Prime Minister to
“control him.”
Referring to the recent controversy surrounding the Jagannath temple at Digha — which stands out as a replica of the ancient Puri temple 1 Banerjee attacked the BJP for making alleged misleading remarks that the wood that was used to carve out the deity of the Digha temple had been taken from the left over wood that had been used for the Puri temple.”
“They spread a disinformation on this issue … made false allegations and finally retracted and accepted that they had peddled a fake news as they do every time … now they should hold their ears and say sorry … their ears should be pulled and they should be made to do sit-ups. We are not beggars or pickpockets; we are people who help others. To what extent should they compensate me for the damage they have done to my reputation? Why did they malign my image? They are falsely accusing me of stealing wood from Odisha temple … simply out of jealousy!”
Meanwhile, reacting to her statement a senior State BJP leader said, “while on one hand she asks the people of Murshidabad not to engage in riots and on the other she holds BJP responsible for this … does she not know that only 30 percent of Murshidabad’s population are Hindus and rest Muslims … can BJP influence the public opinion there … if that so who was responsible for riots … it is naturally the people she has been asking to keep calm and agitate in Delhi and not in Bengal,” he said.
In an unrelated development the Chief Minister announced a police job for the widowed wife of the Army commando Jhantu Sheikh who had recently died in Kashmir during an anti-insurgency operation — within hours of Pahalgam firing that killed 27 people. “I have given her a job with the Home Guard at Krishnagar and our Government will take care of her children’s education,” Banerjee said announcing a grant of `10 lakh for her the Jawan’s family.