Political game over Nalagola clash

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Aug. 8: The issue of communal unrest at Nalagola following the attempt to rape and murder of a 12 year-old girl on 28 July allegedly by three youths of a minority community here, is fast turning into a political blame-game. It was learnt that Malda Congress is in trouble on the issue of Nalagola communal violence after political statements by the CPI-M and the BJP recently. In a counter-statement, Malda Congress leaders today criticised CPI-M members for allegedly circulating leaflets accusing them as the conspirators of the communal violence at Nalagola in Bamongola following the attempt to rape and murder of a local 12 year-old girl. Addressing a press conference here today, the Congress district president, Mrs Rubi Noor, said that Mr Sailen Sarkar, the minister for state parliamentary affairs, intentionally blamed Congress leaders and former MLAs, Mr AH Khan Choudhury and Mr Mostaque Alam for the communal clash at Nalagola. Mrs Noor further challenged Mr Sailen Sarkar to prove his allegations leveled against the two Congress leaders, failing which she demanded Mr Sarkar to quit his ministerial post. Blaming the CPI-M members for creating communal unrest at Nalagola, Mrs Rubi Noor alleged that Mr Sailen Sarkar wants to terrorise the local people before the by-poll in Malda district”. Mr AH Khan Choudhury, brother of the late Congress stalwart, who is also the contesting Congress candidate for Lok Sabha by-poll here, said: “ A group of non-Congress people tried to prevent me from delivering a speech on the issue of the murder of the 12 year old local girl”. Mr Sailen Sarkar, on the other hand, told reporters on Saturday that local residents here were adamant not to hear the speech delivered by Mr AH Khan Choudhury and Mr Mostaque Alam. Yet, when they continued with their speeches, they were attacked by BJP people “.Mr Sarkar further added that the situation was beyond control after the fundamentalist group started voicing slogan of ‘kill Muslim’. They also roughed up two Muslim CPI-M workers, when they were returning from the Nalagola high school after attending a party programme.