President rule finds mention in Bengal governor’s report on Murshidabad violence

KOLKATA: Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose's report to home minister Amit Shah on the communal strife in Murshidabad last month purportedly includes a recommendation to clamp President's rule in the state "if the situation deteriorates further", prompting CM Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress to label it "a please-BJP and malign-Bengal" exercise.
The governor, who visited Malda and Murshidabad days after mob violence linked to anti-Waqf law protests resulted in three deaths and injuries to many, suggested the establishment of a statutory judicial commission of inquiry into the strife and central intervention in cases where the state govt failed to take prompt and effective action, sources said.
Raj Bhavan is still to make an official statement on the contents of the report. Bose travelled to Malda and Murshidabad on April 18-19 to meet those affected by the violence, including scores of people forced to flee their homes and take shelter in a school, despite CM Mamata urging him and politicians of all parties "not to fish in troubled waters".
Highlighting alleged shortcomings in police infrastructure, the governor's report blames a shortage of state personnel for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) being frequently required to step in.
The report asks for CAPF camps in minority-dominant areas, especially those bordering Bangladesh in Murshidabad and Malda districts.
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the report was "entirely politically motivated".
"He knows the situation is under control, so the word 'deterioration' does not apply. The governor also knows that the responsibility of securing border areas lies with the ministry of home affairs and BSF. If attackers enter from the other side or there is infiltration, it is BSF's responsibility," he said.
BJP's RS MP Samik Bhattacharya said the time had come for "intervention", although the party was, "in principle", against dislodging a democratically elected govt.
"We have been warning about the law-and-order situation in the state for a long time. It seems that the governor realised it late. He is the custodian of the Constitution, and it is up to him to write what he feels is right. He has to take a decision in a state where there is no rule of law," Bhattacharya said.
PCC president Subhankar Sarkar said the primary task was to "ensure a proper ambience for free, fair and fearless polls in the state". Bengal is scheduled to go to polls early next year.