Kolkata: Local residents of Murshidabad on Friday had blocked National Highway 12 to protest alleged attacks on migrant workers from the district in another state.
Traffic hit
The protestors had blocked the highway and burnt tyres at Maheshpur at Beldanga 1 from 9 am that led to severe traffic snarls and commuters had to face severe hardships to reach their destination. Trains services were also disrupted.
The protestors however, demanded severe punishment for those who have repeatedly termed residents of Murshidabad working in other states as ‘Bangladeshi’s’ for speaking in Bengali.
Notably, the protest was sparked by news of the death of a Murshidabad resident who had migrated to Jharkhand for work.
CM blames BJP
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee however, had blamed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly instigating ‘violence’ in Bengal.
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“BJP wants chaos and the central government’s agencies are behind it. In every ‘double-engine’ government state, migrant workers of Bengal are heckled. I want to ask them the reason behind it? BJP wants Bengal and they term Bengali speaking people as ‘Bangladeshi’. Why will people of Bengal vote for them? I will urge people of Beldanga to stay calm and to maintain communal harmony,” said Mamata.
Suvendu Adhikari’s response
Taking to X, Leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, “The lawlessness on full display since day before yesterday, right from Farakka to Chakulia is spreading like wildfire. The National Highway at Beldanga; Murshidabad district, has been completely obstructed by anti-social elements for almost 3 hours now. Rampant stone pelting is happening unabated. The trains have been forcefully halted. The area is under the complete dominance of hoodlums, hooligans and goons. No sign of Police action till now. Thousands of passengers are stranded who are petrified and without food and water, with no respite in sight. I would like to urge the DGP (acting) @WBPolice to mobilize Forces and regain control of the area. The message is very clear that the State of West Bengal is getting out of the grip of the Administration and Anti Socials and Rioters are taking over, who have the backing of the ruling TMC Party so that they can use the freehand to do whatever & whenever they want to do in order to disrupt normalcy.”
