Mamata appeasing minorities to secure votebank: VHP leader

Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Surendra Jain on Saturday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to appease minorities to "secure her votebank".

Jain's comment comes a day after Banerjee claimed that the Centre's report suggesting madrasas in Bengal were being used for radicalisation and recruitment was "misleading" and bereft of truth.

"Few days back she took part in Rathyatra celebrations. She was trying to fool the Hindus of Bengal. Now her mask has come off.

"She is trying to implicate nationalist organizations such as the VHP and the Bajrang dal as extremist organisations. But she has no problems with madrasas, where anti-national activities are going on," Jain told PTI.

Banerjee will continue to appease minorities even if that was "at the cost of national security", he alleged.

The chief minister on Friday hit out at the BJP-led central government for pursuing a "political agenda" and accused it of tabling "misleading reports" on Bengal madrasas in Parliament.

The Centre placed a "report of its own in Parliament" instead of referring to the one given to it by the state on the matter, she said.

On Tuesday, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy had said that the Centre conveyed its concern to the West Bengal government over the recent incidents of political violence in the state.

The central minister also said there were inputs suggesting the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh was using certain madrasas in Burdwan and Murshidabad districts for radicalisation and recruitment activities.