Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BJP of keeping a violence-affected family away from her for political reasons as she visited Murshidabad for the first time since the April unrest.

She charged the BJP with fuelling communal tensions in the country while failing to protect its borders, specifically targeting Union home minister Amit Shah as she has been doing in recent weeks though she did not name him this time.

The chief minister was to hand over cheques for ₹10 lakh each to the Das family of Jafrabad, Samserganj, which lost two members during the unrest, and the relatives of Izaz Ahmad, the other victim, on Tuesday.

However, the Dases arrived in Calcutta on Sunday and petitioned Calcutta High Court on Monday for a CBI probe into the murders of Chandan Das (40) and his
father Haragobindo (72).

“I would have handed over ₹10 lakh each to the two families. Why did you (BJP) hide them (Dases)? Is this not abduction? You have used them to abuse me,” Mamata told journalists in Behrampore in the afternoon after meeting district officials
and lawmakers.

“Does this mean dal mein kuchh kala hai (there’s been subterfuge)?”

Chandan and Haragobindo were hacked to death in Samserganj on April 12, and Izaz (16) died of injuries suffered in BSF firing on anti-waqf law protesters in Suti on April 11. The violence, stemming from protests against the central Waqf Amendment Law, left many homes and shops vandalised and torched.

Mamata blamed the BJP’s “politics of hatred” and the central force BSF. “Had the BSF not opened fire, the following day’s incident would not have happened; that’s my firm belief,” she said.

Local police triggered another controversy by replacing the main door of the Das residence, damaged in the violence, in pre-dawn darkness on Monday while the family was away.

Trinamool sources accused the BJP of “hijacking” the family to prevent Mamata meeting them and thus further its narrative of the chief minister being “anti-Hindu”. The Dases, however, are known CPM supporters.

Before leaving for Murshidabad, Mamata had said: “They (BJP) came and gave them money first. My government too was supposed to give financial assistance, and that’s why I was going. But if someone doesn’t want to accept it, I can’t help it.”

She added: “I too am from a Hindu family, so why would I do Hindu-Muslim? When I am in the chair or in politics, for me all religions are the same.”

CPM state secretary Md Salim, who has asserted that Haragobindo and Chandan were party supporters, accused Trinamool and the BJP of playing politics with the victims’ families.

“The BJP and the TMC have started a tug-of-war with the family of Haragobindo Das and Chandan Das. When the duo were killed, the two parties were nowhere to be seen,” Salim said on Monday.

“Now, these parties are using the power of money to establish their control over these families. They are not showing their sympathy towards them, they are playing politics with them.”

Mamata alleged that the saffron ecosystem had planned and orchestrated the violence, adding that she was gathering evidence and would reveal all.

“Two or three people are causing trouble and they are supposedly great religious leaders. But they are actually irreligious leaders…. They make tall claims and have financial resources,” she said without naming anyone.

“Ask the BJP leaders, they know…. Who did what, who planned it… everything will come out.”

Mamata asked why rights panels failed to show the same enthusiasm for investigating tragedies in NDA-ruled states, and added: “If this was not planned, how did they (the BJP and the NHRC) come here so quickly?”

She went on: “People have been provoked repeatedly and as a result… one community attacked another community. Remember this, Bengal will not tolerate this.”

Mamata then trained her guns on Shah, whom she has been consistently blaming for the Murshidabad strife while appearing to absolve Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom she has been requesting to rein in his Number Two.

“Instead of facilitating communal violence, please take care of the borders. Please take care of India…. Please save the country from disaster,” she advised Shah without naming him, apparently alluding to the Pahalgam massacre.

She mocked Shah for allegedly playing “acting Prime Minister”.

“I have seen 10-12 Prime Ministers. I have worked with them. As an MP, I have seen all of them from up close. I am not talking about the one who is Prime Minister now, but the acting Prime Minister. Who is the acting Prime Minister? I don’t know… perhaps the BJP can answer who he is,”she said.

“I say to him, take care of the borders, instead ofcreating communal tension and nuisance…. When you are in the chair, you cannot divide the people.”

Mamata is likely to visit the violence-hit pockets of Dhulian and Samserganj and interact with people on Tuesday. She is also scheduled to chair an administrative review meeting at Dhulian.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari criticised Mamata’s Murshidabad visit, accusing her of using the state machinery to gagaffected Hindus.

“As the home minister, Mamata Banerjee failed to protect Hindus like Haragobindo Das and Chandan Das, who were killed by rioters. She is a failed chief minister and home minister,” Adhikari said.

He said the families of the “Hindu victims” had approached the high court for a CBI probe because they were dissatisfied with thestate police.