Mamata urges people to avoid provocation amidst crisis in Bangladesh

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to political leaders not to make any provocative statements on the Bangladesh crisis and instead jeopardise peace in the state. She said the Centre will decide India’s stand on the crisis in the neighbouring country.

“I appeal to the people of all communities with folded hands to remain calm and not engage in any communal behaviour or take the law into their own hands. If our brothers and sisters who are there (in Bangladesh) face some trouble, the government of India and the government of Bangladesh will look into it,” she said a couple of days ago.

She appealed to leaders of all political parties and everyone else not to post anything on the social media that will disrupt peace here.

She alleged some BJP leaders have already started making ‘inappropriate’ comments on the situation in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal police also asked people not to share “provocative videos” of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

“Given the current situation in neighbouring Bangladesh, we have noticed a few posts and videos on social media that may create discord and unrest. Please do not share provocative videos, do not step into a fake news trap. The state administration is alert and vigilant. Keep calm and maintain peace,” the police posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Mamata had earlier triggered a controversy after she offered to give shelter to "people in distress" from Bangladesh in the wake of the quota reform agitation.

In an address at a public event in Kolkata recently, Banerjee, referring to violence-hit Bangladesh, had said she would keep the doors of West Bengal open for people in distress from the neighbouring country and offer them shelter. She also posted similar comments from her account on platform X.

India’s BSF has enhanced security along the entire border with Bangladesh in a bid to stop possible infiltration from across the border in the wake of the current developments in that country.