West Bengal’s Behrampore Lok Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader, Yusuf Pathan has found himself tangled in a controversy as he remained silent about the communal violence in Murshidabad, which is not far from his constituency. 
| Photo Credit: PTI

Kolkata 

West Bengal’s Behrampore Lok Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader, Yusuf Pathan has found himself tangled in a controversy as he remained silent about the communal violence in Murshidabad, which is not far from his constituency. 

On April 8, parts of Murshidabad district erupted in violence over the anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protests. A section of protestors clashed with police where multiple police vehicles were set on fire. Three people have died till now in the communal clashes and over 274 arrested and 60 FIRs have been filed. 

On April 11, Mr Pathan posted a photo with him sipping tea and wrote, “Easy afternoons, good chai, and calm surroundings. Just soaking in the moment.” The cricketer-turned-politician’s constituency is only about 80kms away from the violence affected area which has led to widespread criticism, some from within the party. 

Mr. Pathan’s post led to a lot of backlashes from opposition parties including Bhartiya Janta Party state president and MP, Sukanta Majumdar. 

“TMC MP @iamyusufpathan is posting picture of him sipping tea and soaking in the moment while Hindus are getting slaughtered in Malda-Murshidabad region!” Mr Majumdar wrote on social media handle X. 

Many political leaders have visited the affected areas and met the aggrieved people, including five-time MP from Murshidabad and former Congress State president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. 

“Here Hindu Muslims have grown up together. Someone from outside can cause such incidents, but it doesn’t mean Murshidabad has become a communal district,” Mr. Chowdhury told media persons on April 15 after paying a visit to the affected families. 

Yusuf Pathan is a first-time MP from the Behrampore within Murshidabad district which has two other constituencies, Murshidabad and Jangipur. Senior TMC leaders Abu Taher Khan and Khalilur Rahaman represent the two seats respectively.  

“Yusuf Pathan is a sportsman. He is busy with cricket and sports. What will he do coming here?” Mr. Khan told The Hindu. But he also added that they are in touch with Mr Pathan over the phone and they have updated him about the developments on the ground. 

Humayun Kabir, a TMC MLA from Bharatpur in Murshidabad, though said that if an MP does not stand beside his people during tough times, then it will reflect during elections. “He is a completely non-political person. When a person becomes a public representative then he has a lot of responsibility. He should have come here and asked about people and their condition. It would have helped him connect with the people,” Mr Kabir further told The Hindu.  

Amidst the controversy, Yusuf Pathan has shared no statement about the issue. He has made two other posts on his social media page unrelated to the communal violence in Murshidabad. 

Meanwhile, on April 18, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose headed for Murshidabad to meet the affected families. This came even after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee pleaded with him on April 17 (Thursday) to defer his proposed visit.  

Speaking to media persons at the State Secretariat on Thursday, Ms. Banerjee said she would request that “apart from locals, no one should go [to Murshidabad]”. 

“Normalcy has returned, and the need of the hour is to build confidence among people. This is being done by the State administration. If that hadn’t been the case, I too could have gone. Why am I not going? I will go at the right time. If I go now, others too will want to go,” the Chief Minister said.