Suvendu Adhikari warns against forced religious conversions, cow slaughter in Bengal

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday warned against forced religious conversions and cow slaughter in the state, while announcing a ₹242-crore relief package for flood-hit Malda district.

Addressing a government programme in Malda, a Muslim-dominated district which shares a border with Bangladesh, Adhikari said, “Will you stop religious conversion in Malda? One such incident was registered in Kaliachak-I block in the district. That was the last. If anything similar takes place during my tenure, you won’t find anybody worse than me.”

Adhikari also issued a warning against the slaughter of cows. “We will not tolerate any religious conversion anywhere. We will stop love-jihad and land-jihad. Wee have handed over land to the BSF (for construction of border fences). Will not allow a single fly to sneak in,” he said.

In May 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe an alleged case of forced conversion in Malda.

“We will implement the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950. No one should harm a ‘Gau Mata’. I am making this clear,” the chief minister said.

Adhikari on Thursday also announced a relief package of around ₹242 crore for flood-hit Malda district in north Bengal. He said that the state government will provide compensation to more than 24,500 families whose houses were totally or partially damaged.

With Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the state, starting next week, the chief minister also said that the government would provide a kit comprising clothes, mosquito nets, tarpaulin and food for five days to around 5,000 families, which have been badly hit.

“There has not been a single case in which a person died of diarrhoea or snake bite after the flood,” Adhikari said.

Adhikari said that the state government was trying to come up with a permanent solution to prevent the recurrent problem of erosion caused by rivers in the district. The River Ganges enters West Bengal through Malda.

“We have asked IIT Kanpur to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR). They have already visited the area once. There won’t be any shortage of funds,” he said.