Durga Puja Carnival’s glory eclipsed by Mominpur flashpoint?

Even as West Bengal was showcasing its Durga Puja Carnival live to the entire world on Saturday especially after Bengal’s biggest festival had obtained the UNESCO’s International Cultural Heritage tag, a few hours after that yet another unfortunate incident put the police in a spot and was a matter of concern.

CONTROVERSY OVER FLAG DISPLAY
According to reports, there was communal tension in Mominpur since late Saturday. A dispute reportedly started over the display of communal flags on the occasion of Miladun-Nabi. Violence erupted on Sunday. Incidents of vandalism, stone pelting and bomb throwing were reported. Several vehicles were damaged. A large number of police personnel were deployed late at night and the Ekbalpur police station area was cordoned off. The Rapid Action Force (RAF) has also been deployed. The proactive Opposition BJP in West Bengal took almost no time in plunging into the crisis. No sooner did the incident happen than the Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting “urgent deployment of Central forces in the wake of Mominpur violence and ransacking of Ekbalpur police station to contain law and order situation. “I have written to Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @ Amit Shah Ji & Hon’ble Governor Shri La Ganesan Ji requesting them to urgently deploy Central Forces in the wake of Mominpur violence & ransacking of Ekbalpur Police Station before the Law and Order situation of WB gets out of hand,” tweeted BJP leader. “I am compelled to write this letter to you at this hour because the gravity of the situation has prompted this urgency. The Hindu community has come under attack in the Khidderpore Mominpur area of Kolkata on the eve of Lakshmi Puja. Many shops and bikes belonging to Hindus have been vandalised by hooligans and anti socials. The onslaught has similarities to the Panchla violence which happened in June in the Uluberia area of the Howrah district. At that time the violence spread across West Bengal, especially in the Nadia and Murshidabad districts,” the letter read.

Adhikari wrote he apprehended that as the West Bengal Government is reluctant to act against the perpetrators this time as well, as because they belong to a certain community, this time too this may flare up and start to spread across the state resulting in loss of lives and property; both Public & Private. The State Government has already meekly surrendered in front of the wrath of the goons, who have taken over the Ekbalpur Police Station, he added. If morning shows the day, then the day definitely is gloomy. Kindly find annexed video of the incident as well as some footage of the vandalism, he stated. Meanwhile, a war of words broke out between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Opposition BJP on Monday over clashes between two groups in the KhidderporeMominpur area of Kolkata, that left several people injured. The saffron camp claimed that law and order has worsened in West Bengal, drawing a sharp retort from the ruling TMC which accused the BJP of trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, who tried to visit the area, was stopped and arrested on Monday. Police said clashes broke out between two groups in the Khidderpore-Mominpur area on Sunday evening over some local issues, in which several people were injured. The agitators also staged a protest outside the Ekbalpur police station. Personnel of the police including those of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed in the area. Majumdar, who wanted to visit the area, was stopped at the Chingrighata area in north Kolkata and was asked to go back as Prohibitory Orders under Section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed in the area. “Sukanta Majumdar was later arrested and taken to Lalbazar police headquarters,” a senior police official said. Hitting out at the saffron camp for allegedly trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state, senior TMC leader Sougata Roy said the police had taken all the steps needed to bring the situation under control. “The miscreants have been arrested. What will Sukanta Majumdar do by going there apart from giving hate speeches? The BJP is trying to vitiate the atmosphere of the state. The BJP should stop politicising every incident,” Roy said.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY  The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India