Outrage against Yusuf Pathan for 'good chai' post in aftermath of Bengal violence
Violence-hit areas are not part of Pathan's constituency but they are located nearby. His silence over violence, which killed 3 people, is fuelling public anger
As Bengal's Murshidabad continues to simmer in the aftermath of the violence over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, local Trinamool Congress MP and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan’s Instagram post is fuelling public anger against the former cricketer.
In his Instagram post, he is shown relaxing and enjoying a cup of tea in a relaxed posture.
Most of the violence-hit areas are not part of Pathan's constituency but they are located about 80 km away. The timing of the Insta post and his silence over the violence have fuelled public anger against the former cricketer.
3 killed, 150 arrested
Twelve more people were arrested in connection with the violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act taking the total arrests to 150. Three people have died in the violence, police said on Sunday.
However, no new incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the Muslim-majority district, with security forces keeping a close vigil, added the police.
Also read: Waqf Act row: 3 dead in Murshidabad violence; HC orders deployment of central forces
Prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed in the violence-hit areas, and the internet has been suspended.
BJP slams Mamata govt
Meanwhile, the BJP slammed the Trinamool MP and accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal of encouraging state-protected violence.
"Bengal is burning. HC has said it can't keep eyes closed and deployed central forces. Mamata Banerjee is encouraging such state protected violence as Police stays silent! Meanwhile Yusuf Pathan - MP sips tea and soaks in the moment as Hindus get slaughtered. This is TMC," BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has said in a post on X.
The Left parties too criticised Yusuf Pathan for his post.
Also read: Waqf Act riots in Murshidabad: Mamata appeals for peace in Bengal
On April 12, the Calcutta High Court stated that they cannot be a "mute spectator" and ordered the deployment of central forces in the district.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to the various reports that have surfaced which prima facie shows vandalism in few districts of the state of West Bengal," the court said.
Baharampur MP
Yusuf Pathan, a former Team India cricketer and brother of Irfan Pathan, is a Lok Sabha MP from Baharampur, one of the three parliamentary constituencies in Murshidabad district. Violence has been reported in Suti, Dhuliya, Samserganj and other areas in the district.
Out of these three areas, Samserganj and Dhuliya fall in the Maldaha Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency and Suti in Jangipur. While the Congress's Isha Khan Choudhury is MP from Maldaha Dakshin, TMC'ss Khalilur Rahaman represents Jangipur.
In last year's general election, Pathan defeated five-time MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Congress bastion.
During election campaigning political rivals had questioned why Pathan, based in Gujarat's Baroda, was being fielded as an MP candidate in Bengal.