Kolkata, Oct 22: Recent incidents of communal violence against minority Hindus in neighbouring Bangladesh has set off a churning in the political discourse of West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP trying to cash in on the issue in the run-up to the October 30 by-elections in the state.
However, political analysts are divided over whether the incidents in Bangladesh will bear any political dividends for the saffron camp in West Bengal and shape the political discourse in the state.
The communal violence in Bangladesh has also revived the debate over the need to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in West Bengal, with the saffron party underling its need to help the persecuted Hindu minority in the neighbouring country.Violence erupted in parts of Bangladesh last week over an alleged blasphemy incident at a Durga Puja pavilion at Comilla, around 100 km from Dhaka, following which paramilitary forces were deployed in many affected areas. However, sporadic clashes broke out between the police and bigots as media reported the vandalisation of Hindu temples and Durga Puja marquees. At least five people were killed, and scores were injured in the violence.
The recent spate of communal violence in Bangladesh has found resonance in West Bengal with BJP leaders using it in their campaign in the by-elections to four assembly constituencies.
“Obviously, the kind of violence that took place in Bangladesh and the way Hindus were attacked will have an impact on this side of the border. This was the reason that our government at the Centre had passed the CAA. “But parties like the TMC had opposed it for their vote bank politics. Now, these parties have gone silent.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee can take the Joy Bangla slogan from Bangladesh but can’t utter a word against such incidents,” BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said. Echoing him, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said that the incidents in the neighbouring country would have a “definite impact” on the eastern state. “Wherever Hindus will be attacked, we would raise our voice against it and fight for justice. The attack on the minority community in Bangladesh will have an impact on West Bengal. The people here will very well understand why we fought for CAA and why the TMC opposed it,” he said.(PTI)
