Mahua Moitra alleges Muslim officers excluded from Amit Shah’s Bengal events

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has alleged that Muslim IAS and IPS officers in West Bengal were being excluded from official programmes attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and questioned the silence of the IPS and IAS associations over what she described as “communal nonsense”.

In a post on X, Moitra alleged that Siliguri Police Commissioner Waquar Raza was kept out of the welcome lineup during Shah’s visit. She further claimed that Jawed Shamim, the state’s Director General of the Special Task Force, was not invited to programmes attended by the Union minister, while IAS officer Khalil Ahmed was allegedly asked to leave a meeting.

Moitra tagged the IPS Association and IAS Association in her post and called on them to speak out against what she alleged was discriminatory treatment of Muslim officers.

The allegations also drew criticism from several social media users, who questioned the associations’ silence and accused them of failing to uphold constitutional principles. Some described the alleged exclusion as religious discrimination and warned that it could deepen communal polarisation, Maktoob Media reported.

The claims come amid broader criticism from opposition parties and minority organisations of the BJP government’s policies towards Muslims in West Bengal. The expanded 41-member state ministry has no Muslim representation, while the state Assembly has amended the Other Backward Classes list, removing 77 communities identified as Muslim.

The government also ended religion-based honorariums for imams and muezzins from June 2026, while reports have raised concerns over reduced funding for minority-oriented schemes and departments.

Other government measures, including tighter enforcement of animal-slaughter regulations, restrictions on offering namaz on public roads and the “Detect, Delete, Deport” campaign targeting alleged undocumented Bangladeshi migrants, have also faced criticism from opposition parties and minority groups.

These developments have led to allegations that the BJP government’s policies disproportionately affect Muslims.

Separately, residents of Jyotinagar Colony in Kolkata have alleged that their water supply was disconnected after they voted against the BJP. The residents claimed that local BJP MLA Ritesh Tiwari told them the action was retaliation for not supporting the party. They have since approached the Calcutta High Court over the matter.