West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced a judicial inquiry into the communal clashes in Baduria and Basirhat in the state’s North 24 Parganas district, PTI reported.
“We want to see who was involved in them, and the government will provide every input to the judicial commission,” she said during a press conference in Kolkata. “Let there be an impartial probe. The probe would be headed by Justice (retired) Soumitra Pal of the Calcutta High Court.”
Violence had ensued in Basirhat on June 3 after a 17-year-old shared an allegedly derogatory post on Facebook about Prophet Mohammed.
Banerjee blamed two national-level television channels for showing “fake” videos and said action would be taken against them. “Video clips of an incident in Comilla, Bangladesh, and a Bhojpuri film were being shown as if these incidents had taken place in Bengal,” the Trinamool Congress chief alleged.
She also blamed the Bharatiya Janta Party for “destroying the federal structure of the country with the sole aim of grabbing power” and congratulated the people of Baduria and Basirhat for “not falling into the BJP’s trap, in spite of provocations”.
“How can some people from across the border intrude and start disruptions here?” she said. “Who is in charge of border security – the Centre or the state? Once again I am saying, it is the ploy of the BJP to disturb the peace of the state.”
On Saturday, West Bengal Police had detained a BJP delegation of MPs, including Meenakshi Lekhi, Om Mathur and Satyapal Singh, at Michael Nagar as they tried to enter the restive Basirhat in North-24 Parganas. On July 7, Banerjee had requested political leaders to keep away from the city in the district, while promising that no leader from the Trinamool Congress will visit the region either.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!