The CPM, a strong critic of the Mamata Bannerjee Govt, has taken the official position that North 24 Pargana events reek of a conspiracy by the BJP-RSS to derail a constitutionally elected Government.

Amaresh Misra | Caravan Daily

COMMUNAL clashes in Bengal’s North 24 Pargana district has left people dumbfounded.

Right from what actually happened to the shockingly partisan role of the Governor appointed by the BJP Central Govt, the entire chain of events leaves behind a murky trail.

A top BJP leader gave a Press statement on Thursday that Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi was a soldier of the ‘Modi Vahini’ : https://www.google.co.in/…/bengal-governor-dedicated-soldie…

Have you ever heard a Congress leader calling a Congress appointed Governor of a State a foot soldier of the Rahul Gandhi brigade?

Right now before our very eyes, the constitutional post of the Governor has been compromised. How can Keshri Nath Tripathi continue as Governor of Bengal after being called a follower of ‘Modi Vahini’?

The Governor has not condemned the statement. BJP has not condemned the statement.

The CPM, a strong critic of the Mamata Bannerjee Govt, has taken the official position that North 24 Pargana events reek of a conspiracy by the BJP-RSS to derail a constitutionally elected Government.

While criticising Mamata on several counts, CPM has openly rebutted calls for the imposition of President’s rule.

Sauvik Sarkar, the boy whose derogatory FB post on Holy Prophet Muhammad triggered the initial storm, was saved by his Muslim neighbours.

But you know what? Several Hindu and Muslim households of Baduria and Basirhat and adjoining areas received the second pic showing a noose around Sauvik’s neck, calling him a blasphemer, with the derogatory pic appearing at the bottom left corner, BEFORE the ‘original’ one!

Which means that there were some other forces manipulating the entire episode…after all, why would Sauvik Sarkar post his picture with a noose around his neck BEFORE he put up the ‘original’ derogatory pic?

It was the picture with the noose around Sauvik’s neck that made ‘Hindu forces’ hit the streets first. Many Muslims were actually provoked by rampaging ‘Hindu mobs’, led, not by local Bengali BJP leaders, but outsiders, mostly of Bihari origin!

The episode gets sordid. It so appears that the ‘Muslim’ crowd that came to attack Sauvik also did not belong to the area. As mentioned above, local Muslims saved Sauvik.

So outsiders, chiefly non-Bengalis, constituted both the Hindu and Muslim riotous crowds!

The pattern seems to be thus: BJP-RSS IT cell might have sent Sauvik’s pic with a noose to inflame both Hindus and Muslims.

As hired ‘Hindu’ mobs came out, hired ‘Muslim’ mobs attacked Sauvik.

The purpose here was obviously, to first orchestrate an attack on Sauvik…and then turn it into a general Hindu Vs Muslim riot.

Just a few days back, RSS leaders told me in Lucknow that after the success of #NotInMyName protests, they were looking for an issue to divert attention–and that Bengal has a non-BJP Govt where Mamata was ‘appeasing’ Muslims.

The logic being that BJP would be free from blame if a riot took place in Bengal!

If you look carefully, BJP has been trying to stir trouble since Eid.

Just after the Muslim festival, an article in right leaning ‘Dainik Jugsankho’ repeatedly mentioned spotting of ‘Pakistani flags’ on the houses of Muslims in several areas of Bengal.

Note that the Jugsankho article did not say Pakistani flags appeared on the houses of illegal refugees, who are in any case not Pakistanis but Bangladeshis; it made a general, sweeping statement.

On Thursday, a man from Basirhat succumbed to his wounds in Kolkata. A clash between TMC and BJP workers took place right outside the hospital.

Newspapers did not report that the dead man’s relatives, as per the version given to me, kept emphasizing the non-Bengali origin of the killers.

As things stand today, Rupa Ganguly of BJP, Congress and CPM leaders have been stopped from visiting Basirhat. Internet services are down. Curfew like situation prevails…

Things are far from normal.

The sad part is that though political leaders are speaking about a conspiracy, there is no concerted effort by secular forces to build a counter-narrative to BJP’s version of what happened in Baduria and Basirhat.

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