Paschim Bardhaman (West Bengal) [India], March 28 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asked the Opposition "not to blame her" for the clash in Raghunathganj on Ram Navami, citing the transfer of police officers ahead of the state elections.
Addressing a public rally in Paschim Bardhaman, Mamata Banerjee accused the police officers transferred by the Election Commission of instigating riots.
She said, "Do not blame me. All my rights have been snatched away. All officers have been transferred. BJP's people have been sent here. But they do not know that it is we who will win. Riots were instigated in Raghunathganj. They should be ashamed. They (officers) have been transferred here so that they can instigate riots. Shops were vandalised in Raghunathganj. Who gave you the right to vandalise someone's house? Who gave you the right to instigate riots in Raghunathganj? All of this will be accounted for."
Further, she said that the Trinamool Congress leaders celebrate several festivals with people of all religions and castes.
"My people also celebrate Ram Navami, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Chhath Puja, Christmas and Eid. We celebrate together with everyone from all religions and castes, be they Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Parsis," she said.
A clash erupted in Raghunathganj, Murshidabad, at three separate locations, between two communities, during a Ram Navami procession.
The violence escalated, involving acts of vandalism against shops and establishments, looting, and arson, and several individuals sustained injuries.
Central forces and the local police subsequently took control of the area.
DIG of the area, Ajit Singh Yadav, declared that authorities are trying to identify the culprits through CCTV footage, vowing to take strict action against the perpetrators.
"In view of the clash that took place at the Ram Navami procession, we have deployed additional forces and senior officers. Currently, the situation is under control; as you can see, traffic has returned to normal. However, we have dispatched our raid teams, and raids are being conducted at various locations. Additional forces from the CRPF and CAPF are also arriving from outside to properly normalise and dominate the area. The culprits will not be spared; we are identifying them using CCTV footage. We will take strict action against whoever was involved, and no one will be spared," Yadav told reporters.
Polling for the West Bengal Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes on May 4.