Money being spent to spur hatred among communities: Mamata

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that money is being spent to spur hatred among communities, and claimed that Left-backed unions were involved in the recent death of a Jadavpur University fresher.

Speaking at a programme at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium, she said that she supports the Opposition bloc INDIA at the national level, but the CPI(M), Congress and the BJP are hand-in-glove in her state.

The chief minister, who was speaking at a conference of imams, also hiked the allowances given to registered Hindu and Muslim religious teachers in the state by Rs 500 per month.

“Money is being spent to spur hatred among communities in the country... The BJP is funding some minority leaders to instigate communal tension ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” she said.

The saffron party is also trying to use the Congress and CPI(M) against the TMC in Bengal, the CM asserted, and added that her "secular credentials" are often questioned whenever she attends programmes for minorities.

“I am with INDIA at the national level... However, the CPI(M)-Congress-BJP have joined hands in West Bengal. The tenure of the Modi government is just six more months and the BJP wants votes to be divided in the state,” she said.

On the issue of the death of a first-year Jadavpur University student on 9 August after he was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed by seniors, Banerjee claimed that CPI(M) and other Left-aligned students’ unions were responsible for it.

"We feel proud of Jadavpur University. But, we have seen how CPI(M) and other Leftist students’ unions are behind the student's death. They will never change. They have been playing with blood for years, and are still not at peace. This has to stop," she said.

Her remarks drew a sharp reaction from the CPI(M), which accused Banerjee of trying to divert attention from the “administrative failures” of the state-run university.

"What has happened is unfortunate... How can she blame someone when the investigation is underway? The chief minister is trying to influence the probe," CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said.