BJP Funding Minority Leaders To Instigate Communal Tensions Ahead Of LS Polls: CM Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee stated that while she supports the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level, the CPI(M), Congress, and BJP work together in her state.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated on Monday that money is being used to incite communal enmity, and that Left-backed unions were implicated in the recent murder of a Jadavpur University freshman, news agency PTI reported. During an event at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Banerjee stated that while she supports the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level, the CPI(M), Congress, and BJP work together in her state. The chief minister, who was addressing at a Imams' conference, also increased the monthly honorarium for registered Hindu and Muslim religious instructors in the state by Rs 500.

“Money is being spent to spur hatred among communities in the country... The BJP is funding some minority leaders to instigate communal tension ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” she was quoted by PTI in its report.

BJP is also attempting to utilise the Congress and CPI(M) against the TMC in Bengal, according to the chief minister.

“I am with INDIA at the national level... However, the CPI(M)-Congress-BJP have joined hands in West Bengal. The tenure of the Modi government is just six more months and the BJP wants votes to be divided in the state,” she said.

Banerjee blamed the CPI(M) and other Left-aligned student unions for the death of a first-year JU student who died after being ragged and sexually abused a few days ago.

"We feel proud of Jadavpur University. But, we have seen how CPI(M) and other Leftist students’ unions are behind the student's death. They will never change. They have been playing with blood for years, and are still not at peace. This has to stop," she said.

The CPI(M) reacted angrily to Banerjee's statements, accusing her of attempting to shift attention away from the "administrative failures" of the state-run varsity.

"What has happened is unfortunate... How can she blame someone when the investigation is underway? The chief minister is trying to influence the probe," CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya was quoted by PTI in its report.

Banerjee, who proposed a Rs 500 increase in the allowances of Imams, Muazzims, and Hindu priests, claimed her secular credentials are sometimes questioned whenever she visits minorities' functions.