TMC has separate law for Muslims, says Amit Shah in West Bengal

Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service
Kolkata, November 6

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said West Bengal under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was having a separate set of laws for Muslims.

While he did not name Muslims, Shah made it amply clear what he meant when he said that the state was having three different sets of laws including one for “a particular group of people”.

“One set of law is for nephew (meaning Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and political heir Abhishek Banerjee), the second set is for a particular group and third is for ordinary people”, Shah said.

“You all can make out what I mean by a particular group”, Shah said flashing a knowing smile at journalists.

The Union Home Minister spoke to journalists here on Friday evening at the end of his two-day tour of the poll-bound state.

Earlier in the day, Shah accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of “appeasement” while talking to media persons at Kolkata’s famous Dakshineshwar Temple.

The charge, made from the premises of a temple associated with the 19th century mystic Sri Ramakrishna drew strong reaction from ruling TMC leaders who pointed out that Ramakrishna himself believed in plurality of religions.  

Shah also talked at length about political violence in West Bengal but ruled out imposition of President’s Rule in the state before the Assembly elections slated to be held early next year.

Shah was recently quoted to have said that BJP workers of Bengal were right in demanding that the state should be brought under President’s Rule.

However, on Friday, Shah said imposition of President's Rule would not be necessary since the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government would be ousted from power in any case by April.

“Whether Article 356 would be invoked in the case of West Bengal is not something that one discusses in a press conference. It is decided on the basis of report from the Governor and after consideration by union cabinet. But there is no question of taking resort to Article 356 for Bengal because the present government would be out in any case by April,” Shah, who has claimed that BJP would come to power in West Bengal by winning over 200 seats (out of total 294), said. 

The Union Home Minister said at least 100 BJP workers had been murdered in West Bengal during the last two and half tears by the goons of the ruling TMC. Workers of CPI (M) and Congress too had fallen victim to political violence unleashed by TMC, Shah said.

Shah said that no arrest was made in most of these cases of political murders despite registration of FIRs. Chargesheet too was seldom filed, Shah said and sought a White Paper from Mamata Banerjee on the results of the investigations in the cases political murders.