Parts of Kolkata witnessed violence and hostility after a police vehicle’s windowpanes were smashed and the vehicle was torched. A video of a man lighting the fire with a lighter has been doing the rounds on social media.
The violence erupted near Howrah railway station when police tried to prevent BJP’s protest march against alleged corruption of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool government.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and party MP Locket Chatterjee were detained by the police even before the start of the rally.
“Everyone got to see how the partisan police tried scuttling a leader of the opposition’s democratic right to protest outside Nabanna. I was manhandled by a woman constable, people saw that too,” Adhikari told reporters before being whisked away in a prison van.
“Police may done it themselves,” added Suvendu Adhikari, “Our workers were not carrying any weapons. Maybe Trinamool Congress’s jihadis came and carried out the violence.” The party has claimed the violence started upon provocation by police.
Vowing to move court against the police action on BJP rallyists, Adhikari claimed, “This government will not last beyond January 2023.
While the BJP has denied any involvement, disavowing their workers of violent action, Congress and TMC leaders have come down heavily on the party arguing that they started the violence.
Youth Congress national chief BS Srinivas tweeted the video and said, “Just identify, which party’s ‘nationalist rioters’ are burning police jeeps in West Bengal?”
The state’s ruling party shared videos showing alleged BJP workers attacking a policeman with wooden rods and a police vehicle.
TMC”s General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted: We shudder to imagine what they would’ve done had they come to power. WB, thank you for rejecting them! Now, it’s time for India to reject them!
“Destroying and damaging government property, attacking police personnel, causing chaos and disrupting peace across the state — today’s activities of BJP that brought shame upon the entire nation. We strongly condemn such outrageous behaviour,” the TMC said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court sought a report from the West Bengal Home Secretary over the allegation that BJP supporters were forcibly prevented from attending its ‘march to Nabanna’ programme.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj also directed the state government to ensure protection of the BJP state headquarters in Kolkata.
(with PTI inputs)
