Mamata Banerjee welcomes Haryana CM Khattar's remark that govt can't protect everyone
Kolkata, Aug 2: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday welcomed her Haryana counterpart and BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar's statement that not everyone could be protected, but she said that the government should not promote casteism or communal tension.
Banerjee, however, alleged that the incidents of communal tension were scripted by the saffron party, the motto of which is to divide people to win elections.
"I have seen Manohar Lal Khattar's statement. Not as a politician, but as a citizen of this country, I will appreciate his statement because it's a fact that the government cannot give protection to everyone," Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, told a press conference.
After six people, including two home guards, have been killed in communal violence in Haryana, Khattar on Wednesday said it is not possible for the government to protect every citizen.
"But I would also say that the government cannot promote casteism, creedism or communal tension... The communal tension started as the BJP is playing a dirty game to divide people on the basis of caste, creed and country to win elections," Banerjee said.
The government, however, can provide peace to people, she said.
Sometimes it might be difficult to handle a situation as there can be problems related to caste or community but one should give it a try, the West Bengal chief minister said.
"If we are mentally strong, united and do not divide the people, such things will not take place. It happens because of hate speech and provocation," she said, claiming that the country is burning because of instigation.
Banerjee also wondered why no central teams were sent to these states where the incidents of communal violence have taken place.
On Parliament taking up the no-trust motion moved by the opposition bloc INDIA over the ongoing ethnic strife in Manipur next week and Prime Minister Narendra Modi replying to the debate on August 10, Banerjee asked why a specific date was chosen when it was an "urgent" matter.
"Is there an astrological angle behind it? It's an urgent issue," she said.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
