West Bengal BJP leaders detained ahead of protest in Kolkata

Leader of Opposition Leader of Opposition in  the West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari was detained ahead of BJP’s ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ (march to secretariat) to protest against alleged corrupt practices of the TMC-led government.

BJP’s long-time leader Rahul Sinha and MP Locket Chatterjee were among those detained from Hastings. The detained BJP leaders were whisked away in a prison van to Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar, The Hindustan Times reports.

Sinha accused the Mamata Banerjee government of trying to forcibly stop the “democratic protest”.

“Our supporters were prevented from boarding a special train from Alipurduar to Sealdah on Monday evening and even lathicharged by the state police. The train left later with our activists and supporters,” Sinha said.

BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar staged a sit-in in Howrah when he was stopped from going towards Nabanna. “This autocratic Mamata Banerjee government does not believe in giving space to opposition parties,” he told news agency PTI. The state BJP chief also claimed that it is a shame that the police are acting in a partisan manner and that “some of them have turned into puppets of the ruling TMC”.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has lashed out at the BJP over the clashes and violence across the state and its capital Kolkata, where normal life has come to a standstill, causing massive inconvenience to the common people. “BJP karyakartas or hooligans? Destroying and damaging government property, attacking police personnel, causing chaos and disrupting peace across the state - today’s activities of the BJP have brought shame upon the entire nation. We strongly condemn such outrageous behavior,” the TMC said on Twitter.

Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh alleged that the BJP was instigating trouble under the garb of protest. “It is a part of a bigger game plan to destabilise Bengal this festive season. This is not a democratic movement. This is goondaism,” Ghosh said.

Security arrangements were beefed up in Kolkata as BJP supporters from across West Bengal started arriving in the state capital and neighbouring Howrah on Tuesday morning, with heavy barricading at Hastings near the state government’s new Secretariat.

Traffic restrictions have also been put in place along several key stretches of the city, reported PTI quoting police.

Barricades have also been placed on the Second Hooghly Bridge, which connects the metropolis with the state secretariat building.

However, despite extra precaution, incidents of arson and vandalism were also reported.

A police kiosk was damaged as demonstrators were stopped from marching ahead in the city.

In Lalbazar - where the Kolkata Police’s headquarters are located, a police vehicle was set on fire. Another cop car was set ablaze in central Kolkata’s busy Burrabazar area.

BJP national Vice-President Dilip Ghosh was expected to lead the procession from north Kolkata and Adhikari would have joined the procession from the Santragachi area.