The district Trinamool Congress leadership is “unhappy” with Baharampur MP Yusuf Pathan for not visiting Murshidabad during last week’s clashes, with a section of the unit expressing displeasure over the party’s decision to field a celebrity candidate who was absent during the crisis and has perceived disconnect from grassroots workers, a PTI report said.
“He is a cricketer and a celebrity. Why would he come here? We are the ones trying to manage the situation on the ground. This is the issue with nominating celebrities. He is in touch with us over the phone, and we have asked him to come to the district. But right now, he is busy with the IPL,” Murshidabad MP and senior TMC leader Abu Taher Khan told PTI.
The TMC local leaders on Friday said they are in touch with him over the phone and have urged him to visit the district soon. Another senior leader of the party, who did not wish to be named, said the TMC top brass is “not pleased” with Pathan, especially after he posted photos on social media, which were seen as “insensitive” in the present context, the report added.
“Although the violence-hit areas do not fall under his constituency, he should have at least paid a visit to the district. The leadership is looking into it,” the TMC leader said.
BJP slams ‘absent’ Pathan
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan for posting photos of him sipping “good chai (tea)” in “calm surroundings” and being “absent” from violence-hit Murshidabad district in Wes Bengal.
BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that at a time when Bengal was burning the cricketer-turned politician was rejoicing.
Shehzad Poonawalla said, “Mamata Banerjee has picked up a cricketer named Yusuf Pathan from somewhere and gave him a ticket and the vote bank made him win in Baharampur and today when Bengal is burning, Hindus are being selectively killed, Yusuf Pathan is enjoying sipping tea…This is the priority of TMC that Pathan sahab will drink tea and enjoy whereas Bengal is burning and the Das family is being killed,” an ANI report quoted him as saying.
Pathan had on Sunday posted three pictures of him on social media, one of which showed him sipping tea. He captioned the post with, “Easy afternoons, good chai, and calm surroundings. Just soaking in the moment.”
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar also took to X to post, “Priorities? TMC MP yusuf pathan is posting picture of him sipping tea and soaking in the moment while Hindus are getting slaughtered in Malda-Murshidabad region! This is what happens when imports are fielded to represent Bengalis. Shameful!”
NCW chief to meet affected families
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar began a two-day tour of Malda and Murshidabad to assess the impact of the violence on women and inspect rehabilitation efforts.
“We have received reports that women in the affected areas and relief camps are not being treated properly. The NCW has formed an inquiry committee. We will speak to the victims and assess the situation before submitting a detailed report,” Rahatkar said in Kolkata before leaving.
The NCW team will spend the night in Malda and head to Murshidabad on Saturday. The panel is expected to meet district officials, victims, and eventually call on the Governor, Chief Secretary, and DGP in Kolkata on Sunday.
An NHRC team also visited a relief camp in Malda on Friday, to meet those displaced by the Murshidabad riots, while Governor CV Ananda Bose defying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee‘s request to defer his trip, set out for the district—prompting the TMC to allege a BJP-backed attempt to provoke further unrest.
The NHRC team visited the Par Lalpur High School in Malda, where hundreds of displaced persons have taken shelter since communal clashes erupted in Murshidabad.
What happened in Murshidabad
Violence erupted in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district and Jangipur during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act on April 11 and 12, with clashes between demonstrators and police resulting in stone-pelting and torched police vehicles.
After the Calcutta High Court order, BSF has deployed five companies to support state police operations, IG South Bengal Frontier Karni Singh Shekhawat said on Saturday.
Three people were killed on Friday night in Murshidabad in the aftermath of mob violence in the district, West Bengal Police said.
(With inputs from agencies)