Kolkata, West Bengal, Communist Party of India (Maxist) leader Md. Salim addressing gathering at Brigade Parade Grounds.
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI
Demanding a judicial probe into the major violence in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday alleged that ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP were engaged in “competitive communalism” for political gains ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
CPI(M)‘s frontal organisations and several Leftist workers and farmers organisations held a mega rally at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Ground to press for their demands.
Addressing the rally, CPI(M)‘s State secretary Mohammed Salim said, “We want a judicial probe into the Murshidabad riots to bring out the truth. The TMC and BJP are engaged in competitive communalism, which is nothing but a desperate ploy to shift focus from the real issues like unemployment, price rise, and corruption, which are affecting the common people.”
Protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act spiralled into major violence during April 11-12 in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad district, where three people were killed and several others injured.
Referring to the Waqf (Amendment) Act brought in by the Narendra Modi-led Union Government, Salim accused the Centre of betraying the people. “The law has been amended. There is a nationwide protest against it. But riots didn’t take place anywhere except Murshidabad in Bengal. That raises serious questions,” he emphasised.
The CPI (M) leader alleged that both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress were “helping each other” to polarise voters in the run-up to the Assembly polls in 2026.
“The BJP and TMC are helping each other so that an atmosphere is created in the name of religion and people get divided in the State,” Salim added.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday visited Murshidabad and interacted with the affected people, including family members of the father and son duo who were killed, during the recent violence.
A delegation of the National Commission for Women (NCW) also visited Murshidabad and said it will submit its report to the Centre.
Chandan Das and his father, Hargobind Das, were hacked to death by a mob at Jafrabad locality in Shamsherganj. Shamsherganj, Dhulian, and Suti witnessed widespread violence in Murshidabad district during the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.
Published on April 20, 2025