Smriti Irani, the minister of state for women’s and children’s affairs, attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday over the violence that occurred during a Ram Navami parade in Howrah and charged that she had given those who threw stones at the procession a pass. “During the Ram Navami parade in Howrah, stone pelting occurred. Irani claimed that Mamata Bandopadhyay (Banerjee), rather than enforcing the law, “gave a clean chit to stone pelters who took the law into their own hands and attacked the Shobha Yatra of Ram Navami.” How long will Mamata continue to attack the Hindu community is the issue, she continued.
Irani continued, “This is not the first incident that occurred during Mamata’s administration. Earlier in 2022, on Lakshmi Puja, Dalits were attacked while conducting puja. She was quiet at that moment as well.
Earlier on Thursday, during Ram Navami celebrations in Howrah, two groups clashed, leading to the burning of several cars. The rioters burned down cars and damaged both public and private property while the parade was going on.
The West Bengal administration on Friday gave the Criminal Investigation Department control of the investigation into the violence that occurred in Howrah during Ram Navami celebrations. The investigation has been started by a special squad under the direction of Inspector General of Police, CID Sunil Choudhury.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, previously spoke with West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and assessed the situation in Howrah, where fighting had broken out.
Shah also called Sukanta Majumdar, the president of the West Bengal BJP, to ask about the condition of law and order. The head of the West Bengal BJP wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday to request an NIA investigation into the violence that occurred in Howrah during Ram Navami festivities.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly and a prominent member of the BJP, filed a PIL in the Calcutta High Court on Friday in response to the violence that occurred in Howrah, West Bengal, during Ram Navami celebrations, requesting an investigation into the incident by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the prompt deployment of Central Forces in the areas affected by the violence.
