Didi Says BJP Pre-planned Murshidabad Ram Navami Clash

Kolkata/Berhampore: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of orchestrating the violence, that broke out over the Ram Navami celebration at Rejinagar in Murshidabad a day before, and described the clash between two communities as “pre-planned.” To justify her claim, the Trinamul Congress supremo, while addressing a Lok Sabha Election campaign rally at Raiganj in North Dinajpur, pointed out that senior IPS officer Mukesh was transferred by the Election Commission as DIG (Murshidabad Range) ahead of the Hindu festival.

On Wednesday evening, BJP workers shouted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogan from a Ram Navami rally which was passed by a mosque at Manikyahar village in Shaktipur of Rejinagar. This earned them a retaliation with stone pelting. The clash intensified when bombs were hurled also. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code have been enforced in troubled areas with a heavy deployment of police and central forces since last night. Ms Banerjee said, “Ram Navami was celebrated in the



entire state. But the Murshidabad incident was pre-planned. I can say this is a challenge.”

She wondered, “BJP triggered an incident there the day before yesterday. Its MLA led an attack with his followers at the same place. Who told you to attack people with arms during the Ram Navami celebration? Lord Ram gave his eyes to Maa Durga but you gouge out people's eyes!” 

The CM added, “19 people were injured. One of them was the officer-in-charge of the police station. I have photos of the heads of people belonging to a community smashed. I don't want to spread tension. But I asked the BJP commission why it removed DIG a day before Ram Navami. Was it part of the plan?” She also called BJP star campaigner Mithun Chakraborty a ‘traitor’ after regretting her decision to send him to the Rajya Sabha earlier. “I made him a Rajya Sabha MP. But he fell at the feet of RSS and joined BJP to save his son. I didn't know that he was such a big traitor.”