Bhubaneswar: Spokesperson of BJP Anil Biswal on Sunday called out the alleged hypocrisy of Trinamool Congress MP Yusuf Pathan over his letter, underscoring concerns regarding the alleged ill-treatment of workers from Bengal in Odisha.
The BJP leader accused the first-time MP from Baharampur of batting for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Rohingyas while remaining mum over Murshidabad unrest last month.
“Yusuf Pathan Ji, this is not the time to show your Islam Brotherhood. This is the time to fight with terrorism, fight with Pakistan sponsored terrorism. For whom you are worried about, they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Rohingyas staying in Odisha and destroying our socio-cultural harmony of the state. They have forged documents provided by West Bengal governments for vote bank politics. Why I am saying about his Islam Brotherhood is that Yusuf Pathan did not say a single word when Hindus in Murshidabad were attacked, but now writing letters,” Biswal posted on Facebook.
On May 2, the TMC MP wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging systematic violence against workers from West Bengal in Odisha, especially from his Baharampur constituency, and urged his intervention.
The TMC admitted that the letter was drafted by the senior leadership in a damage control measure after Yusuf’s “Good chai and calm surroundings” Instagram faux pas amid unrest in many parts of the district he represents in Parliament over the Waqf Act. The MP merely signed below and forwarded it, the Telegraph reported, quoting sources.
The post was widely seen as insensitive and earned him a barrage of condemnation.