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Bhattacharjee at the meet. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha
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Calcutta, Jan. 13: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today said the Trinamul government’s move to appease the minorities by offering them sops was leading to “mandir-masjid’’ politics in Bengal.
“This Trinamul government is making all effort to appease the minorities in a crude manner. We always believe that mandirs and masjids should run according to their rules and through their means. But the current administration is offering allowances to imams of mosques. Now, purohits have started saying they should also be given such sops,” he said at a meeting in Dum Dum today.
The former chief minister added: “This is a dangerous move. The policy of minority appeasement is leading to the return of the politics of mandir and masjid. Never has a government given allowances or honorarium to religious heads.”
According to Bhattacharjee, the BJP had tried to bring in communal polarisation in Bengal, “but unsuccessfully’’.
“We have seen the rath yatra and then the Babri demolition. The BJP tried to do communal politics in our state with such activities. Now we find the Trinamul government taking certain steps that are helping the BJP spread out in Bengal. I apprehend trouble if such policies are pursued,’’ he said.
Bhattacharjee claimed that the earlier Left government had tried its best to address the “real issue’’ of Muslims by reserving jobs for them in the government.
“We had introduced the reservation policy for Muslims. That was the real issue of Muslims that then needed to have been addressed and we tried our best to do that. But the current government has put our policy on hold,’’ he said.
Bhattacharjee criticised the state government on law and order, referring to the recent Bhangar clash.
“You all have seen what happened in Bhangar… how a senior leader of our party was assaulted. Earlier, our party’s Hingalganj MLA was roughed up. Violence against women is increasing. Criminals are having a field day,’’ the former chief minister said.
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