In the wake of three people being killed in the violence over Waqf Act protests in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad in West Bengal, BJP MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato on Sunday wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting that select border districts of the state be declared “disturbed areas” under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Mahato alleged that repeated communal attacks on Hindus were the reason behind his demand to impose AFSPA in the bordering districts of Bengal.
Expressing deep anguish over the situation in certain districts of West Bengal, particularly Murshidabad, Mahato accused the ruling TMC of facilitating targeted violence against Hindus.
“What we are witnessing on the ground is not merely sporadic lawlessness—it is sustained, targeted violence against the Hindu community, facilitated by political appeasement and administrative inaction under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime,” he wrote.
Bengal Burning. Hindus Bleeding.
Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia, South 24 Parganas—Hindus attacked, homes looted, lives lost.
TMC’s appeasement has failed law & order.
Like Kashmiri Pandits once, Bengali Hindus are being hunted.I urge @AmitShah ji to impose AFSPA under Sec 3… pic.x.com/7OCyOl3G4O
— Jyotirmay Singh Mahato (Modi Ka Parivar) (@JyotirmayBJP) April 13, 2025
Narrating the alleged incidents of violence against Hindus, the BJP MP informed the Home Minister that “In Murshidabad district alone, recent weeks have seen the looting and destruction of over 86 Hindu shops and homes, murder of innocent civilians like Hargobindo Das and his son Chandan Das, and targeted economic sabotage such as the burning of betel leaf plantations in Jhaubona village. These incidents are not isolated. Similar unrest has unfolded in Malda, Nadia, and South 24 Parganas, where repeated communal riots, often aligned with TMC’s appeasement politics, have left the Hindu population vulnerable and voiceless.”
He further stated that despite public outcry, even senior BJP leaders including the Leader of Opposition were barred from visiting affected areas, thus raising grave questions about transparency and the rule of law in the state.
“The violence following the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill further exposed the collapse of law and order. Armed mobs attacked Hindu households, government properties, and even police forces. The Calcutta High Court had to intervene and order the deployment of central forces, a rare step that reflects the state’s administrative failure,” said Mahato.
He equated the condition of Bengali Hindus in some parts of the state to the Kashmir Pandit exodus of 1990.
“The fear, isolation, and targeted violence that Bengali Hindus in these districts are facing today echoes the Kashmiri Pandit exodus of 1990. The tragic silence of the administration, deliberate targeting of a religious community, and propaganda-driven unrest are all too familiar,” he alleged.
In view of the above-mentioned situation, the BJP leader urged Shah “to consider declaring AFSPA in the bordering districts of West Bengal—especially Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia, and South 24 Parganas—under Section 3 of the AFSPA Act, 1958.”
He argued this will restore order in the state and deter future communal targeting of Hindus. The move, he added, will also send a message among the Hindu community that they are not alone or abandoned.