Bring Muslim criminals to book: now members of the minority community tell Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, June 20 (IBNS): With the divide between Hindus and Muslims in Bengal growing over the perceived "appeasement politics" of the ruling Mamata Banerjee government, a group of prominent Muslims in Kolkata have written to the chief minister to act against any Muslim violating law and not go soft on them to further give credence to the perception that Muslims can get away with crimes under her while Hindus suffer.
The appeal in the form of a letter came in the wake of the recent doctors' strike where the family of a Muslim patient party brought truck loads of people to assault the doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital leading to a nationwide protest of the doctors and a big healthcare crisis in Bengal.
Hardly had the doctors called off the strike that a former Miss India and city-based model had a nightmarish evening fending off a group of bike-borne boys without helmet from the minority community attacking the app cab in which she was travelling as police chose to remain a silent spectator.
In an open letter to the CM shared after former Miss India Universe Ushoshi Sengupta was attacked and harassed by the group of motorcycle-borne youths in South Kolkata, socialite Imran Zaki shared a post signed by him and several other Muslims living in Kolkata, urging Mamata to act.
The letter referred to two specific incidents in Kolkata that have been in the news - the attack on doctors at NRS hospital and the attack on Ushoshi Sengupta.
Stating that the attackers in both cases were Muslims, the letter says: "We are grieved and embarrassed."
It goes on to suggest two ways the government could handle the situation.
"One, bring the assailants to book. Not just in this instances, but in every single instance where Muslims are involved. They should not be allowed to go scot free because they happen to be Muslims (as is the growing perception). This will send out a message that the members of one community are not being shielded or appeased (as most people believe)," it says.
"Two, it would be good to engage in or encourage engagements with Muslim youths and their families across Kolkata in the areas of gender sensitisation, civic consciousness, law compliance, etc. This could require long-term patience but needs to be implemented right away," it adds.
The letter ends with the hope that the government would respond with "speed and sensitivity" to the situation.
The notion that in Muslim dominated areas of Kolkata, anyone can violate traffic rules and ride bikes without helmets if he is from the minority community got further fuel from the incident of Ushoshi Sengupta two days ago.
It is widely believed that the so called appeasement politics of Mamata Banerjee led to her electoral setback in the recently concluded general elections as the Hindu nationalist BJP gained more ground in West Bengal.
But the chief minister in her initial reaction to the poll results hinted that she would continue to nurture her Muslim vote bank as they are the ones which vote for her and hence she is ready to bear with them.
BJP had all along been accusing Mamata of appeasement politics amid reports of Muslims stopping Hindu religious festivals and events like Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja in the villages.
During some communal riots too in the past years, Hindus had to leave their homes in the districts which are barely an hour's distance from Kolkata.
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