'Mamata must resign': BJP on Waqf violence; TMC hits back

A political slugfest erupted in West Bengal on Sunday over large-scale violence in Murshidabad district of the state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding a probe by federal agencies into what it claimed to be "persecution" of Hindus and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing the Opposition of running a "campaign of lies" and indulging in "politics of incitement".

- Tanmay Chatterjee

KOLKATA:

The war of words erupted a day after at least three people were killed, several others injured and a number of shops torched after protests against the recently enforced Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in Suti and Samserganj blocks in the Muslim-majority district.

Around 275 people have been arrested in connection with the violence that first broke out on April 8 and resurfaced over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Opposition BJP held a rally in Kolkata, attacking the ruling TMC, demanding the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and a probe by federal agencies over the Murshidabad violence.

"Mamata Banerjee has no right to continue (as chief minister). Houses of hundreds of Hindus were attacked. The violence should be probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)," State BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar alleged.

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari accused the state government of allowing the "breakdown of law and order", claiming that radical elements had been emboldened under the TMC's rule, leading to targeted attacks on Hindus in Murshidabad.

"More than 400 Hindus from Dhulian, Murshidabad driven by fear of religiously driven bigots were forced to flee across the river & take shelter at Par Lalpur High School, Deonapur-Sovapur GP, Baisnabnagar, Malda," the leader of the Opposition in assembly alleged in a post on X. "Religious persecution in Bengal is real."