West Bengal govt speaks on Hooghly violence, promises strict action

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose condemned the incidents of violence and said strict action would be taken against wrongdoers on Tuesday.

His statement follows a new incident of stone-pelting in the Hooghly district’s Rishra town on Monday evening, which forced the Eastern Railway to suspend all local and mail express train services to and from Rishra railway station. Bose said at a press conference in Salt Lake, an urban township, that the people of Bengal have suffered greatly and that their right to live peacefully will be upheld at any cost.

“We will never allow forces of darkness to take society to ransom. We will take strict action against wrongdoers. People have the right to a peaceful living and that right will be established at any cost,” he said.
Later in the day, Governor Bose arrived at Rishra, amid an uneasy calm in the wake of a fresh flare-up on Monday.
Earlier in the day, senior advocate and BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani claimed in a tweet that of all the ‘pseudo-secular’ parties, the “most dangerously communal” was the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

Jethmalani alleged that the loss of the Sagardighi assembly bypoll spurred Mamata to incite violence against Hindus during Ram Navami.

“Of all the pseudo-secular parties the most dangerously communal is the #MamataBanerjee-led TMC. Not chastened by the SC transfer to the CBI of the horrendous post-poll violence cases, the mere loss of the Sagardighi assembly bypoll spurred Mamata to incite violence against Hindus during #RamNavami akin to her call to violence against BJP supporters after the 2021 Assembly,” tweeted the senior advocate.
The Rajya Sabha MP said the main cause of violence in the state is CM Banerjee’s “mollycoddling the Muslim vote bank”.

“The BJP were not provocateurs on Ram Navami: Mamata’s ruthless quest to cling to power by mollycoddling her Muslim vote Bank to any extent is the root cause of the continuing mayhem in W.Bengal. Pity the State,” he tweeted.

The new clashes occurred just one day after clashes erupted during the BJP’s march in Hooghly on Sunday. Following that, the state government issued prohibitory orders and suspended internet service throughout the district.

According to Kaushik Miron, Eastern Railway’s chief public relations officer, a stone-pelting incident occurred at Rishra railway station. He added that police and the rapid response force (RAF) were also stationed in the area to prevent any untoward incidents.

Earlier on Thursday, several vehicles were set on fire after a fight between two groups in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations. During the procession, rioters vandalised public and private property and set fire to vehicles.