Members of left-wing organisations march towards the Brigade
Parade ground to take part in the Centre of Indian Trade Unions' (CITU) rally,
in Howrah, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (PTI Photo)
KOLKATA — The CPI(M) on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into the recent
communal riots in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, accusing the ruling TMC
and the opposition BJP of colluding to engineer the violence for political
gains ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
Sounding the bugle for the 2026 West Bengal assembly
elections campaign from a mega rally of CPI(M)'s frontal organisations at the
Brigade Parade Grounds here, party state secretary Mohammed Salim alleged that
the TMC and BJP were engaged in "competitive communalism" to divert
public attention from pressing issues such as unemployment, price rise and
corruption.
"We want a judicial probe into the Murshidabad riots to
bring out the truth. The TMC and BJP are engaged in competitive communalism,
which is nothing but a desperate ploy to shift focus from the real issues
affecting the common people," Salim said.
"BJP and Trinamool Congress are trying to take West
Bengal to a situation where fraternity and unity among the people will be
lost," he said.
Referring to the Waqf (Amendment) Act brought in by the
Centre, Salim launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Union government,
accusing it of betraying the people.
"The law (Waqf Amendment Act) has been amended
nationwide. There is a nationwide protest against it. But riots didn't take
place anywhere except Murshidabad. That raises serious questions," he
said.
The veteran Left leader alleged that both the BJP and the
TMC were "helping each other" to polarise voters in the run-up to the
2026 polls.
"Before the 2026 elections, the BJP and TMC are helping
each other so that an atmosphere is created in the name of religion and people
get divided," he claimed.
"Let the battle for the 2026 (West Bengal assembly
elections) battle start from here," he said, urging supporters and
sympathisers to work for the revival of CPI(M)'s electoral fortunes.
Lauding the worker and farmer bodies and other Left
supporters and sympathisers for turning up at the mega rally at the iconic
Brigade Parade ground in good numbers, he said that it is not enough to show
the strength of numbers at the meeting only but it is necessary to take the political
battle to the grassroots level.
The CPI(M) could not win any seat in the 2021 West Bengal
assembly elections and in the 2024 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the 42
constituencies in the state.
Taking a swipe at the Centre's development slogan, he remarked,
"The BJP-led Union government has turned its slogan of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka
Vikas' into 'Sabka Satyanash' (destruction of all)."
The CPI(M) leader also alleged that the Murshidabad riots
were "orchestrated" through a tacit understanding between the BJP and
the TMC.
"TMC and BJP colluded and orchestrated this violence.
It's a shameful betrayal of the people's trust," Salim said.
The CPI(M) has called for immediate action against those
responsible and urged the people of West Bengal to unite against what it
described as the "dangerous politics of division".
Maintaining that rioters should be acted against with an
iron hand, the CPI(M) secretary said that criminal cases should be lodged by
the police suo motu against anyone giving hate speech.
Salim said that police reforms are a necessity to ensure
that they act independently.
The mega rally was called by CITU (Centre for Trade Unions),
AIKS (All India Kisan Sabha) and AIAWU (All India Agricultural Workers' Union).
CITU West Bengal state secretary Anadi Charan Sahu said that
the Narendra Modi government has brought down an attack on the working classes,
claiming that issues of livelihood were being given a go-by.
He claimed that owing to lack of job opportunities in
TMC-ruled West Bengal, people were having to go to other states in search of
work.
Sahu urged the people to participate in a nationwide strike
called on May 20 demanding jobs and upholding of workers' rights.
Several trade unions have called a nationwide strike on May
20 to press for various demands, including scrapping of labour codes, stopping
privatisation and holding regular consultations through Indian Labour Conference.
