MAMATA ATTACKS CENTRE, LINKS NAGALAND ISSUE WITH THAT OF COOCH BEHAR

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee linked the Nagaland incident with that of Cooch Behar during an administrative review meeting of north and south Dinajpur in Raiganj on Tuesday. While 15 civilians and a soldier were killed in an ambush and retaliatory violence in Nagaland’s Mon district on December 4, three persons died in border firing by Border Security Force (BSF) on the international border between and Bangladesh in Cooch Behar on November 12. The chief minister said: “What problem you have seen in Nagaland, similarly a few days ago, three people were shot dead in Cooch Behar. I don’t want any clashes without informing the local police. So, the police have to be more careful.” Mamata also attacked the Union Home Ministry’s decision to amend its 2014 notification on jurisdiction of the BSF to exercise its powers in states where it guards the international border. The chief minister claimed that law and order was a matter of the state and that right was being violated in the new decree of BSF issued by the Centre. Enquiring about the law and order situation in Dinajpur district, Mamata said: “You have a problem here. The BSF occasionally enters the village. There are also allegations of torture. They can even be seen in the line during voting.” She claimed that there were problems in districts like Murshidabad, Malda, north Dinajpur and south Dinajpur.

In the wake of the BSF notification, the Trinamool leader had written to the Prime Minister demanding cancellation of the decree and also directed the Trinamool MPs to be vocal in the Parliament. By raising the Nagaland issue, the chief minister increased the pressure on the Centre on the BSF issue.