RSS imparting arms training: Partha

He was speaking at a debate on a resolution that his party along with CPM and Congress had moved in the House. The resolution expressed concern over attempts made by communal forces to create disturbances in the state Without naming the RSS, Chatterjee, also the secretary general of the TMC alleged that various organisations are indulging in spreading communalism but the government knows how to tackle them.

“We will not allow any such move. We are dealing with incidents like Burdwan blast in a fair manner. Even NIA director Ajit Doval said that the state government was moving in the right direction in this regard,” Chatterjee said.

The RSS reacted sharply to the allegations. “Under the TMC rule, Bengal has become a sanctuary for jihadis and militants. They are the people who are stoking communal passions. The RSS has got 44,855 shakhas all over the country. Nowhere has there been any allegation about any arms training. It is baseless,’’ Jishnu Bose, a senior office-bearer of RSS in Kolkata, told The Indian Express.

Shamik Bhattacharya, the lone BJP MLA in the Assembly, also criticised Chatterjee’s “false and baseless allegations”. “He (Chatterjee) has made himself a laughing stock by saying all this,” Bhattacharya, who opposed the resolution in the House, said.

Earlier, participating in the debate on the resolution, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said: “Not all Muslims are terrorists. There has been a growing tendency to dub Muslims as terrorists. I am a Muslim and now I think when I go out in the streets, I will have to carry a placard which says ‘My name is Firhad Hakim and I am not a terrorist’,” he said.

He blamed a particular party aided by a media company for the character assassination. “One party has come to power whose hands are tainted with blood (spilled in) Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar riots,” Hakim said. The House passed the resolution.

TMC, BJP clash in Birbhum again

Kolkata: West Bengal’s Birbhum district once again witnessed a turf war between workers of the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP at two villages Thursday. This came even as BJP workers took part in a law violation programme before the district magistrate’s office here. Earlier in the day, BJP and TMC workers clashed in Jadavpur under Parui police station area. A house, allegedly of a TMC worker, was set on fire while several others were ransacked. Another clash was reported from Dhumshanka village. However, nobody was injured till last reports came in. ENS