Kolkata: BJP president Amit Shah condemned the violence at his roadshow in Kolkata on Tuesday and accused the TMC goons of resorting to violence due to frustration.
“The way people had gathered for the BJP roadshow in Kolkata, almost every person in the city was present. There was no place to even stand along the eight-kilometre stretch. Frustrated goons of Mamata didi’s TMC attacked the roadshow. There was a medical college 200 meters away from my rath, the attack began from there. Inflammatory substances were thrown and there were attempts to create a stampede,” Shah told ANI here.
“I want to thank the BJP workers that despite all this the roadshow continued for 1.5 hours and ended at the scheduled place and time. I condemn the violence Mamata’s party is doing here. I appeal to the people of West Bengal to give answer to violence with peace. It is important to defeat TMC to stop the politics of violence in the state,” he added.
Shah further criticised the Election Commission (EC) for turning a blind eye towards TMC’s actions.
“In the last six phases of the Lok Sabha elections, violence took place only in West Bengal and nowhere else. I want to ask the people of West Bengal that BJP is contesting polls everywhere, but there is no violence, but here (in West Bengal) BJP and TMC are contesting and there is violence.
This proves that TMC does not believe in democratic values and is attempting to strangle democracy. They want to effect Lok Sabha elections in the same way 60 political activists were killed during the Panchayat elections,” Shah said.
“I want to appeal to the Election Commission too. The Election Commission is turning a blind eye towards TMC in West Bengal. At least, now to save their prestige, they should give directions to arrest all the goons who are roaming around. Several times the Chief Secretary and DGP don’t obey orders of the Election Commission,” he added.
Clashes reportedly broke out after some miscreants started throwing sticks at the convoy in which the BJP president Amit Shah was travelling in.
The incident took place on College Street here when allegedly some TMC supporters began sloganeering and the furious BJP supporters responded by pelting stones and sticks at the University gates, resulting in chaos and mayhem.
Visuals from the scene showed a fire outside the university gates.
Security forces later got down to control the situation as everything happened in a fraction of second near the Calcutta University here. A statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was also vandalised at Vidyasagar College in the clashes.
While talking to ANI, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “In West Bengal, people have come out on the streets in support of the BJP. The land beneath Mamata Banerjee’s feet has slipped. She is frustrated because of her defeat. TMC goons attacked Amit Shah’s roadshow due to which many workers and media person got injured. Mamata Banerjee should understand that because of this the BJP won’t stop. I used to think that Mamata is courageous, but I have never seen a scared leader like her.”
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]