Mamata hits back at BJP's terror 'haven' jibe after arrest of Bengaluru cafe blast suspects in Kolkata
KOLKATA: The arrest of two accused in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case from West Bengal on Friday triggered a political slugfest in the state, with the opposition BJP claiming that the TMC regime had turned the state into a safe haven for terrorists.
Hitting out at the BJP for alleging that West Bengal has become a safe haven for terrorists, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the accused in the Bengaluru blast case were arrested because of the state police's prompt action.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said earlier today that it had arrested from Kokata the perpetrator and the architect behind the explosion last month at Begaluru's Rameshwaram cafe.
Following this, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya today alleged that West Bengal has become a "safe haven" for terrorists.
"NIA detains two chief suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib and accomplice Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa, from Kolkata. Both likely belong to ISIS cell in Shivamogga, Karnataka. West Bengal, unfortunately, under Mamata Banerjee, has become a safe haven for terrorists," Malviya said in a post on 'X'.
Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar, the Trinamool chief lashed out to say that the accused in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast were arrested from Purba Medinipur in a joint operation by West Bengal Police and the central intelligence agencies.
"I heard one BJP leader say that a bomb blast took place in Bangalore. The accused are from Karnataka, not from here. They were hiding in Bengal for two hours and in two hours our police managed to nab them. And they are saying that Bengal is not safe?"
She took the names of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Bihar.
Banerjee blamed the BJP for spreading canards against the state.
The TMC supremo accused the saffron party of misusing central agencies and not allowing a "level-playing field for all political parties" in the elections.
The West Bengal Police also took to social media platform X to post, "Contrary to the claims made by Amit Malviya, the fact is that, two suspects in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case have been arrested from Purba Medinipur in a joint operation by the West Bengal Police and the Central Intelligence Agencies."
"The proactive role of WBP in the matter has been officially acknowledged by the central agencies. West Bengal has never been a safe haven for terrorists and the state police will continue to remain ever-vigilant in keeping its people safe from nefarious activities," the state police added.
Meanwhile, the BJP in West Bengal also posted that the NIA's crackdown shows that the state has morphed into a "sanctuary for terrorists."
In a dig at Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, the BJP said, "Bobby Hakim's chilling comparison to 'mini Pakistan' finds validation as Mamata Banerjee's leniency emboldens criminals. The time for decisive action against this culture of impunity is now!"
Earlier in 2016, Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim, also known as Bobby Hakim, found himself in a soup after he referred to Kolkata's Garden Reach area as "mini-Pakistan" while speaking in an interview to a Pakistani daily.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)