The Chief Minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has made use of Diwali (Kali Puja in Bengal) by disseminating messages that she perhaps was waiting to deliver following reports of sporadic incidents of communal disturbance in the State.
On Wednesday she inaugurated Kali Puja in various areas and said that her government will not tolerate any attempt to “malign” the Muslims of Bengal. She also announced a gigantic public welfare project on Wednesday. All the government hospitals will treat the patients free of cost, the Chief Minister said. An order was also passed on the same day.
While inaugurating a Puja, Ms Banerjee said that the policy of her government is to honour all religions, castes and creed and any attempt to disturb harmony in the State will be dealt with firmly.
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There are reports of minor communal disturbances in central and south Bengal over last couple of weeks. While both the communities blamed each other for the minor flare-up, Ms Banerjee said that the administration is alert and is capable of preventing any kind of “wrong doing.”
“Just as you do not target the entire Marwari society for the folly of a person from Rajasthan and just as you do not blame the entire Bihari population for the wrongdoing of a single Bihari, you have no right to malign the entire Muslim community for the wrongdoing of a few persons," she said.
"There are attempts being made to disturb the communal harmony and that will not be tolerated," said the Chief Minister.
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A press release issued by All India Trinamool Congress has quoted the Chief Minister to say that “a criminal is a criminal irrespective of the community he belonged to and an entire community can not be demonised because of his crime.”
She referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to substantiate her argument that it was unfair to target an entire community for the crime of an individual.
"It is like playing with fire. I fear communal riots. Communal fire can be far more dangerous) political fire," she further added.