Mamata directs Bengal police to be 'proactive' in Cooch Behar

Kolkata, Dec 8 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged the police to adopt a more proactive approach in the border district of Cooch Behar.

"Cooch Behar is a border area. Law and order must be maintained properly," Banerjee, who arrived in the district on a two-day visit, said at an administrative review meeting there.

She also aked police officers to act with firmness.

"Officers cannot afford to be timid. I am not asking you to engage in violence, but you must be proactive," she said, directing that naka-checking along the border be strengthened.

"A lot of movement takes place across the border areas. Ensure that naka-checks are conducted properly," the CM said.

Without naming the Border Security Force (BSF) or the Centre, Banerjee criticised alleged interference in the region.

Referring to Sunali Khatun, who was wrongfully deported to Bangladesh and later brought back to India after the intervention of the Supreme Court, Banerjee alleged that the BSF continued to "forcibly push back" citizens despite having valid documents.

"We have brought back the pregnant woman from the other side of the border. Four of her family members are still there. They are Indian citizens and have all valid documents. Despite that the BSF forcibly pushed them back," Banerjee said.

Banerjee also targeted the BJP and stated, "Those who criticise the most are the ones who take advantage of the situation, and others get blamed. All birds eat fish, but the kingfisher is the only one to be blamed." The CM also raised concerns over the NRC-related notices sent earlier by the Assam government to several members of the Rajbanshi community.

She reiterated that the neighbouring state had no authority to act within Bengal.

"The Assam government has no right to send letters to people of Bengal," she said, adding, "I am telling police that no one from another state should be allowed to come and arrest our people. It is your responsibility to ensure that." She added that inter-state coordination must be maintained in criminal cases.

"If you are coming to apprehend a criminal, speak to the state government. We will not shelter a criminal. But, ordinary people and criminals are not the same," Banerjee said.

Seeking to address concerns of ethnic and linguistic communities in the state, she said, “I do not understand why people speaking Bengali are tagged as Bangladeshis. We must understand that Bangladesh is a different nation and Bengal is a state, both having a common language.

The chief minister said Urdu is spoken in the state of Punjab in Pakistan, and also in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. “In Bengal, too, there are people speaking Urdu. This is nothing but history. They (the BJP) are distorting this and labelling people as Bangladeshis,” she alleged.

“I would also like to reassure people belonging to the Rajbangshi, Kamtapuri, the Tapashilis, tribes, and Namasudras, who are the most tortured these days, that there will never be any detention camp in Bengal, at least till I am here. I want people to live with self-respect,” Banerjee asserted. PTI SCH MNB RBT