Mamata Banerjee announces additional subdivision in strife-ridden Murshidabad for better law & order

Kolkata, May 6 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced the creation of a new subdivision in Murshidabad for better law & order management in the wake of the communal violence and riot-like situation in parts of the district last month after protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent.

Banerjee made the announcement of the creation of a new subdivision on the second day of her Murshidabad tour.

The new subdivision, according to the Chief Minister, will be carved out of the three pockets of Suti, Farakka and Dhuliyan, all of which are currently parts of the Jangipur subdivision in Murshidabad.

Incidentally, all three were the most affected by the communal violence that rocked the district for quite some time last month.

With the creation of the new subdivision, the total number of subdivisions in Murshidabad will increase to six.

Addressing an administrative review meeting at Suti, the Chief Minister reiterated her earlier stand that any protests on the Waqf (Amendment) Act should be done in the national capital and not in West Bengal, since the state government had no role to play in the promulgation of the new act.

"We have no question about the Waqf (Amendment) Act here. So I will not say anything on this issue. If you want to raise questions on it, go to New Delhi. Always remember I am here in West Bengal,” she said.

Banerjee also issued an appeal to the people of Murshidabad not to be instigated by the provocations from BJP leaders or members of other fundamentalists. "I would prefer my head severed from my body rather than dividing people in the name of religion," she said.

She also alleged that Bengali-speaking migrant workers working in other states are often selectively heckled and tortured there. She also urged the migrant workers from the state to come back to West Bengal and assured them that there are enough jobs available in the state.

--IANS

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