KOLKATA: West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday asked chief secretary HK Dwivedi to come to Raj Bhavan within 10 pm on Friday and update him about the steps initiated to restore law and order following violent demonstrations staged by the people of a minority community in Howrah district on the second consecutive day protesting the hate-speech of two BJP leaders referring to Islam and the Prophet which triggered diplomatic outrage from Gulf countries. The protesters blocked the National Highway for six hours on Friday, set a number of vehicles ablaze and squatted on railway tracks.
The protesters blocked the arterial thoroughfare for 11 hours on Thursday.
‘’While appealing for peace, WB Guv Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has sought urgent personal update from CS by 10 pm today over worsening law & order situation in state since yesterday. Expect CM Smt. Mamata Banerjee to sternly warn law violators –they will not be spared,’’ Dhankhar tweeted.
In his letter to the state government, the constitutional head of the state said Dwivedi has been called upon to initiate all possible steps to bring about restoration of law and order as also peace. ‘’After June 9, 2022, blockade of NH-116 for 11 hours it was expected that the administration would be in an overdrive to take preventive and precautionary measures which unfortunately are not reflected on the ground. Vigilants steps were required to be taken in the wake of the Imam Association of Bengal circulating a video clip raising protest and its president urging demonstrations after Friday’s namaaz session,’’ he wrote in the letter.
The south-eastern railways authorities had to cancel five long-distance trains because of the blockade on railway tracks. The agitators torched four vehicles on the NH at Uluberia and Dhulagarh.
On Thursday, the Bengal CM condemned hate speech and demanded immediate arrests of the saffron camp functionaries for their ‘’atrocious’’ remarks. ‘’I strongly seek that the accused leaders of BJP be arrested immediately so that the unity of the country is not disturbed and people at large do not face mental agony,’’ Mamata tweeted. On the micro-blogging platform, she appealed for peace.
Following the diplomatic outrage in the overseas, the BJP on Sunday cracked down on two of its leaders and suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal over their comments and issued a statement asserting that it ‘’respects all religions’’ and ‘’strongly denounces insults of any religious personality’’.