BSF Should Not Enter Villages in Name of Development Events, Warns Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Amid reports of Border Security Force (BSF) indulged in Community Development Programmes (CDPs) at the bordering areas – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked the state administration to ensure that BSF should not enter the village in the name of social service/community development events. While addressing an administrative meeting at Kaligunj in North Dinajpur, Mamata said, “They (BSF) should not interfere in local issues. It is the job of the police to look into the local issues. Police should stay alert here because North Dinajpur shares border with Bangladesh.”

“I have raised the matter before the Union Home Minister and have informed the ministry about their (BSF) activities. Those who are guarding the border should not enter villages in the name of community services. They should not interfere in local issues because law and order is a state subject. I would like to tell the police officers posted in these areas to look into the matter,” she added.

While expressing her dismay over delay in issuing of caste certificate, she said, “I came to know that even after one member of a family is having a caste certificate – the second generation is not getting the certificate on time. There is a delay. Why? I would like to say that there will be no enquiry if a second-generation member of a family is applying for a caste certificate. It should not take more than a month to issue the certificate.”

She also launched a new housing scheme named as ‘Snehaloy’, under the purview of which the underprivileged families will be given Rs 1.20 lakh each from the state government to build houses. This is not for the first time when Mamata has been at constant loggerheads with the NDA government over BSF. Earlier, in July, 2017, the state government had returned an additional 400 paramilitary BSF troops sent for deployment in the riot-hit areas of Bashirhat in North 24-Parganas district.

Then, MHA issued a statement, claiming that the state government has its own security forces like the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) and it is not deploying them and instead blaming the central government for not sending the force.“We have sent four BSF companies (comprising 100 personnel each) to Basirhat but these were returned by the state government,” the ministry had said.

In December 2016, Mamata hits out at centre by raising serious objection to the presence of Army soldiers at toll booths on national highways that run through Bengal. “They should have sought state government’s permission. Is this a military coup? Even for a mock drill, the army takes permission from the state,” she had said. Following which, Mamata decided to spent the entire night in her office at the secretariat ‘Nabanna’ and refused to go home till the Army left.