New Delhi: Even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared the Centre’s Waqf (Amendment) Act "will not be implemented" in the state, violent protests against the law have left three dead—including a father-son duo lynched by a mob in Murshidabad. The contradiction raises a critical question: If the state refuses to enforce the law, why is the bloody backlash happening across the state?
Statewide Bedlam: Arson, Clashes, Curfews
Malda: Highways thwarted, vehicles torched as protesters battled police.
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South 24 Parganas: Waqf board offices attacked in stone-pelting clashes.
Hooghly: The government imposed section 144 after vandals damaged government buildings.
Political Explosion: TMC’s Paradox
While Banerjee’s government rescinds the Waqf Act, BJP leaders blame her of "letting riots flare to polarize voters." Critics question why protests resent when the CM has publicly rejected the law, suggesting either misinformation or deliberate insurrection.
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Legal Timebomb: Supreme Court on Deck
With multiple petitions pending, the Supreme Court’s ruling could redefine the conflict. The Bengal violence, now a national flash point, may force an urgent judicial intervention.
The Bigger Fight: Who Controls Waqf?
The amendments grant the Centre oversight of Islamic charitable properties, framed as "anti-graft reform" by supporters but slammed as "communal overreach" by opponents. For Bengal, the turmoil risks deepening divisions ahead of 2024.
The Centre may deploy forces if violence spreads. Can Mamata Banerjee curb riots without alienating her base? Because protests rage against a law the state claims it won’t enforce. Is this political theater or a warning of worse to come?
