Kolkata, Apr 20 (PTI) The CPI(M) on Sunday demanded a judicial probe into the recent communal riots in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, accusing the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP of colluding to engineer the violence for political gains ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.

The BJP, on the other hand, warned of “bulldozer treatment” against the perpetrators if the party formed the next government in the state after the polls.

National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar called upon the state government to “act urgently” to address the grievances of the riot-hit people, particularly women, and said the panel is preparing a report which will be submitted soon to the Centre with copies to top state officials.

Sounding the bugle for the 2026 election campaign from a mega rally of CPI(M)’s frontal organisations at the Brigade Parade Grounds here, party state secretary Mohammed Salim alleged that the TMC and BJP were engaged in “competitive communalism” to divert public attention from pressing issues such as unemployment, price rise and corruption.

The veteran Left leader alleged that both the BJP and the TMC were “helping each other” to polarise voters in the run-up to the 2026 polls.

“We want a judicial probe into the Murshidabad riots to bring out the truth. The TMC and BJP are engaged in competitive communalism, which is nothing but a desperate ploy to shift focus from the real issues affecting the common people,” Salim said.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari, in a rally in Purba Medinipur district, cautioned against efforts being made to ensure the flight of Hindus from Muslim-majority Murshidabad.

Accusing the TMC of abetting such attempts by fundamentalist ‘jihadis’, the BJP leader asked Hindus to remain united and cast their votes with an eye to ensuring “their existence was not at stake and protecting their religious identity”.

He also asserted that if the BJP came to power after the 2026 assembly polls, all those behind the violence in Murshidabad will be “given the punishment they deserve and their houses will be razed to the ground by bulldozers.” Joining Adhikari in lashing out at the ruling dispensation, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the alleged failure of her administration to prevent the Murshidabad violence.

Malviya, in a post on X, asserted that while the CM went on claiming that the Murshidabad violence was orchestrated by outside elements, the state police force’s version about the riots in parts of the district on April 11-12 ran contrary to her claims.

In an open letter made public on Saturday night, the chief minister urged people to maintain peace and alleged “these forces (BJP and RSS) were using the backdrop of an unfortunate incident that happened on provocation to play divisive politics.” “BJP and its allies have suddenly become very aggressive in West Bengal. These allies include RSS. I have not taken the RSS’ name earlier, but I am being forced now to identify them. Together, they all have initiated a vicious false campaign in the state,” she had alleged in the open letter.

“They had originally planned to use Ram Navami for playing with fire, but the Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal have been most peaceful. Then they tried to use some subsequent matters relating to the agitations against the Waqf (Amendment) Act,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, winding up her two-day visit to trouble-torn Murshidabad and neighbouring Malda, Rahatkar said she and other panel members met many women, their families and children, and the torture and suffering they faced was “beyond imagination, having left a deep scar in their minds which need to be healed and addressed on an urgent basis with a humanitarian approach”.

Advocating confidence-building measures by the state administration, she said that the responsibility of bringing peace lies with the state government.

“They are our own people, they are daughters of this state. What they went through is beyond words. They saw the houses, which they built with their hard-earned money, get shattered and burnt down; they were assaulted, threatened and driven out of their homes and villages where they lived for years. None went to meet them in all those days. They were asking me what their fault was,” she said.

The NCW chief also met Governor C V Ananda Bose at Raj Bhavan, sources said, adding she apprised him about her experiences in Murshidabad and Malda.

As Rahatkar urged the State Women’s Commission to rush to the aid of the affected women at the earliest, SWC chairman Leena Gangopadhyay said the commission has been in touch with the riot-hit people but did not visit them at this juncture “as we want the situation to settle down a bit before rushing to the spot.” She said the state women’s panel will certainly visit the area in coming days.

Three people were killed, several others injured, and numerous properties were vandalised during protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabad district. PTI SUS AMR RG BDC ACD