West Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday wrote a letter to Governor CV Ananda Bose making an urgent request for immediate promulgation of prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS and deployment of Central Paramilitary Forces in Beldanga, Murshidabad, “in view of ongoing communal riots.”
In the letter, Adhikari strongly wrote that over the past 48 hours, rioters have “unleashed terror”, vandalising property and creating fear in the area. He also alleged that journalists from Zee 24 Ghanta and ABP Ananda were assaulted while reporting on the violence, calling it “a direct assault on democracy and the rule of law”.
“What shocks me the most is the utter inaction of the State Administration,” Adhikari wrote, pointing out that no prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed despite the rapidly deteriorating situation.
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Referring to last year’s riots in Murshidabad, which claimed lives, Adhikari said he could not “stand by silently” as violence once again grips the district.
“As the Leader of the Opposition, I have written an urgent letter to His Excellency the Governor of West Bengal, Dr C V Ananda Bose, appealing for immediate promulgation of prohibitory orders and deployment of Central Paramilitary Forces to restore peace and protect lives,” he said.
He also cited a 2025 directive of the Calcutta High Court, which, according to him, mandates the imposition of prohibitory orders and deployment of central forces in similar situations. “The directive must be enforced now,” he added.
Urging swift intervention, Adhikari appealed to the Governor to “act without further hesitation” and direct the state administration to take decisive steps to bring the situation under control.
A political slugfest has surfaced in West Bengal over the tension in Beldanga of West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Saturday after the alleged murder of a migrant worker from the district in Jharkhand.
While all the opposition parties in the state, including Bharatiya Janata Party, CPI(M) and Congress have lashed out against the Mamata government and described the developments as a total administrative collapse in the state, the Trinamool Congress termed it as a result of “well-organised conspiracy” to instigate people in the district.
According to BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, the politics practised by Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Banerjee seems to be a renewed exercise to “separate West Bengal from the country”.
“The extent of appeasement politics in West Bengal has reached such a stage that it seems that the legal system of the country is not applicable in West Bengal. Is West Bengal not a part of India? All the constitutional provisions and democratic practices are trampled in West Bengal,” Patra said.
Youth CPI(M) leader and the party’s state committee member, Sataraup Ghosh, said that “lawlessness” in West Bengal has reached an extreme stage, as “lawbreakers knew that their patrons are at the helm of state administration and hence they could have a free ride all through”.
“This situation in West Bengal is a typical case of complete collapse of the law and order situation because of a totally inactive state government whose only purpose is to back the anti-social elements,” Ghosh said.
Former state Congress president and five-time Lok Sabha member from the same district, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said that while the atrocities of the migrant workers from West Bengal are undoubtedly condemnable, that does not mean that the protests against this issue will turn into utter hooliganism.
“It is quite unfortunate that our Chief Minister, instead of taking administrative action against the hooligans, is rather tacitly supporting such hooliganism. The journalists are being beaten up, and the Chief Minister is advising the journalists to stay away from the mob,” Chowdhury said.
Trinamool Congress spokesman, Arup Chakraborty, said that while the administration and police would definitely take steps to bring the situation under control, there is surely a “well-organised conspiracy to instigate people in the district. Some people are hunting for bodies so that they can do politics over it.”
Meanwhile, police on Saturday resorted to baton charging to disperse the mob and lift the blockades.
(With IANS inputs)
