Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing attack on West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday, blaming it for a collapse in governance amid violent protests that paralyzed National Highway 12 and railway services in Murshidabad’s Beldanga area.
Locals blocked the highway at Maheshpur in Beldanga 1 block, burning tyres and pelting stones in protest against alleged attacks on migrant workers from the district in other states, particularly Jharkhand. The unrest erupted following the death of Alai Sheikh, a 30-year-old hawker from Sujapur Kumarpur gram panchayat, whose body was found hanging in Jharkhand on Thursday. Family members and villagers alleged he was beaten to death and staged as a suicide after his Murshidabad origin was revealed through his identity card.
Protesters demanded immediate arrests, exemplary punishment, compensation for Sheikh’s family, and safeguards for migrant laborers. “Migrants from Murshidabad are being branded Bangladeshis outside West Bengal. They have been facing atrocities for speaking Bengali. We want exemplary punishment for those involved,” one demonstrator told reporters. The victim’s mother, Sona Bibi, recounted her son’s last call on Wednesday: “He said the situation where he was staying was unsafe and that he was afraid to step out.”
The blockade halted traffic between north and south Bengal, stranding thousands. Demonstrators also shut down Beldanga railway station, disrupting trains on the Sealdah-Lalgola line.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya highlighted the chaos on X, posting: “West Bengal is descending into widespread violence and lawlessness, spreading rapidly from Farakka to Chakulia. In Beldanga, Murshidabad district, the National Highway has been completely blocked by antisocial elements for nearly three hours. Stone-pelting continues unchecked, trains have been forcibly stopped, and the area remains under the control of hooligans and goons, with no sign of police intervention so far.”
Malviya accused the TMC of patronizing rioters. “The situation sends a clear message: governance in West Bengal is collapsing. Antisocial elements and rioters, enjoying the patronage of the ruling TMC, have been given a free hand to disrupt normal life at will, pushing the state towards chaos,” he wrote. He further condemned an assault on ZEE 24 Ghanta journalist Soma Maity and her cameraman by a “violent Muslim mob” in Beldanga, allegedly in front of police who did nothing. “This is the state of law and order in Bengal under Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the Home portfolio,” Malviya added.
TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee defended the protests while countering BJP claims. En route to north Bengal, she alleged migrants faced torture “only in BJP-ruled States” for speaking Bengali. “Migrant labourers from Bengal are being tortured only in BJP-ruled States. We stand by their families,” she said, calling the minority community’s anger “legitimate” amid “repeated incidents of violence.” Banerjee accused the BJP of plotting riots ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, as it realized electoral defeat loomed. She dismissed concerns over the violence, advising journalists to “not enter the mob” and describing the unrest as a “spontaneous program on Jumma Vaar,” adding she had “no right to stop religious programs.”
Malviya slammed this as “abdication of duty” and “appeasement at the cost of women’s safety, press freedom, and the rule of law.” “When the Chief Minister mocks victims, shields mobs, and silences journalists, the message is loud and clear: In Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal, lawbreakers are protected, and truth-tellers are punished,” he posted. Heavy police deployment failed to fully restore order by evening, with protesters vowing to continue until the Chief Minister assured justice.
