The Bengal BJP on Wednesday parachuted 12 Hindu victims who had fled their homes amid alleged atrocities in riot-torn Samserganj on the streets of Calcutta to mount pressure on Mamata Banerjee on a day she met Muslim clerics.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, who led the group of riot victims, staged a dharna in front of Bhabani Bhavan — the Bengal police headquarters — demanding a meeting with DGP Rajeev Kumar.

The police initially did not allow them to meet the state police chief. After a sit-in of over two-and-a-half hours, they got the nod.

A source in the state BJP said the move was politically significant as the party sought to take the Samserganj violence issue beyond Murshidabad district and bring it to Calcutta.

"Most of these victims lost their livelihoods during the violence and took shelter at a high school in Malda. Now, we can take the issue to the streets of Calcutta to make urban people aware of the plight of Hindus in remote pockets of the state," said a BJP leader.

At a time when the government has been trying to facilitate the return of those who fled after the violence, the BJP's move has caused fresh embarrassment for the administration and the ruling dispensation.

After the group of Hindu victims reached Calcutta, Murshidabad district magistrate Rajarshi Mitra rushed to Parlalpur High School in Malda's Kaliachak-III block on Wednesday afternoon to convince them to return to their homes, promising them every support.

Earlier in the day, the BJP demanded Mamata's resignation after she attacked Union home minister Amit Shah and the BSF over the violence in Murshidabad during the anti-waqf law protests.

Holding the Centre responsible for "manufacturing the violence", Mamata said that agencies controlled by the home ministry brought people from outside and created trouble in the state.

In response, Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition, said it was a fit case for an NIA probe if the chief minister felt outsiders were responsible for the Murshidabad violence.

"It is clear there is no democracy in Bengal. Mamata should resign. She should go to jail. She has failed as the police minister. I demand an NIA investigation in the Murshidabad violence,” said

The Congress also criticised Mamata for saying that the violence-hit area was part of the Malda (Dakshin) Lok Sabha constituency that the party won in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“Violence erupted in the areas that fall in the jurisdiction of Malda (Dakshin) constituency that was won by the Congress. But the Congress was nowhere during the trouble. They should have managed it,” said the chief minister.

The Congress MP from Malda (Dakshin), Isha Khan Choudhury, said that holding the Congress responsible for the trouble was illogical.

“I don’t know why I was being targeted in connection with trouble that broke out in Samserganj…. If she holds me responsible for Samserserganj, why did she not hold the TMC MLAs and MPs responsible for trouble in Suti, Beldanga and Bhangar and some other places?” said Choudhury.

“Areas where trouble broke out are under control of the ruling party (TMC). The MLAs belong to the TMC. The panchayats are run by the TMC. Holding the Congress responsible is illogical,” said Choudhury.

Adhikari alleged it was Mamata's ploy. “In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, minority voters voted in big numbers for the Congress in Samserganj and Farakka, parts of the Malda (Dakshin) seat. She wants to consolidate minority support before the 2026 polls. This is why she is blaming the Congress,” he said.

The CPM said Mamata's stance on the waqf law did not align with her party’s actions in and outside Parliament. "Has she taken any action against party MPs who did not vote against passing the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Parliament? Did her party, in the capacity of a political party, approach the Supreme Court, like other Opposition parties, against the waqf law?" asked CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty. "The political polarisation strategy remains the same for the TMC and the BJP."