The Great Bengal Paradox: Protesting a Law That Won't Apply

DN Bureau

West Bengal erupts in violent clashes over Centre's Waqf amendments. Paradoxically, protests rage even as CM Mamata Banerjee declares the law won't be implemented in state, exposing political tensions.

Bengal Witnesses State Wide Voilence
Bengal Witnesses State Wide Voilence


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.

Also Read | Mamata demands release of Rs 10,000-crore fund from PM

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.

Also Read | Mamata, Kejriwal skip Niti Aayog's Governing Council meet

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?










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