CM Mamata Banerjee Reviews Footages of Clashes as BJP's Nabanna Chalo March in Bengal Takes a Violent Turn

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went through more than twenty video footages of BJP’s protest rallies and held a high-level meeting with home secretary, chief secretary, Kolkata police commissioner and director general police on Thursday to evaluate the law and order situation at Bhawani Bhawan which housed the headquarters of CID.

Party insiders claimed that when BJP workers were having pitched battle with the police, Mamata was busy evaluating 'frame by frame' video footage of the rallies to plan future action of the state administration in dealing with such rallies.

Sensing similar trouble during the 2021 Assembly Polls, she has instructed police administration to prepare a detailed report of today’s protest march and gave her suggestions on how to handle such crowds more effectively in future.

She also went to her office at 'Nabanna' before meeting the top bureaucrats.

More than 100 BJP workers including senior leaders and policemen were injured while few of them were hospitalised during a protest rally organised by the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the banner of 'Nabanna Chalo Abhijan' (march to state secretariat) on Thursday afternoon.

Thousands of the BJP workers from across the state gathered at all the intersections which go to the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ and clashed with the police when they were prevented from marching forward.

Trouble started around 12.30 pm after a police vehicle belonging to the armed police was allegedly attacked at Hastings area and the protestors tried to vandalise it. Similar incidents of violence were reported from GT Road, Howrah Maidan and Santragachhi, where the protestors reportedly hurled bombs and burnt tyres out of anger and tried to break police barricades. The forces retaliated with lathi charge and tear gas.

Situation went out of control, when BJP youth workers went berserk and had a pitched battle with the police force. In the shuffle, a BJP worker identified as Balvinder Sngh was caught with a firearm at GT Road in Howrah. He is a resident of Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas, which is the stronghold area of BJP MP Arjun Singh.

The recovery of arm and bombings created panic among the policemen and fierce clashes were reported at several places in and around the state secretariat.

In self defence, the police force fired several rounds of tear gas shells aiming at the protestors. They also requested BJP leaders, through loud speakers, to maintain law and order situation.

Couple of BJP workers, policemen received head injuries while resisting brick batting. All of them were rushed to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. Senior BJP leader Raju Banerjee was rushed to Apollo Hospital with head injuries. Another senior party leader Arvind Menon and Tapas Ghosh (BJYM vice president) received severe leg and head injuries.

Office goers and daily passengers had a harrowing time as traffic was thrown out of gear. Several passengers missed their flights and trains.

This is for the first time in recent years when any political



party managed to break police barricade and reached close to the state secretariat. Police officers were seen struggling hard to tackle the crowd raising slogans of 'Ek Hi Nara, Ek Hi Naam. Jai Sree Ram. Jai Sree Ram'.

At various locations, water-cannons were used to disperse the crowd. More than 100 people were arrested and were taken to police lockups.

BJP’s muscle flexing on Thursday left many TMC leaders in a fix as they never expected that such a large number of people will participate in the protest rally. “Today’s show once again proved that soon lotus will bloom in Bengal,” BJYM national president Tejasvi Surya said.

He said, "Today, democracy was murdered by Mamata Banerjee. Bengal government has now become the most corrupt government in India. Mamata Banerjee got scared of us and shut down the secretariat. I liked that...Dar Achha Hai (fear is good). Today, I would like to recall Atal Bihari Vajpayee's slogan, 'Andhera chatega, suraj niklega, kamal khilega’ (darkness will be dispersed, the sun will come out and the lotus will bloom). I believe darkness will go soon from Bengal. Today, every Bengali is saying, 'The next government will be the BJP government.'"

The dissent rally was sorted out against police barbarities, fraudulent allegations against BJP pioneers/laborers, disintegrating peace circumstance, rising joblessness, defilement, straightforward assessment framework at different levels. 

With regards to recuperation of firearm and besieging during the meeting, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, stated, "They captured the guardian and he is having a substantial permit to convey the weapon. Taking everything into account, TMC laborers flung bombs focusing on our kin. Today, our dissent rally was fruitful and this was clear after Mamata Banerjee fled away from Nabanna." 

"Police is lathi charging our people...Stone-pelting being done from Khidirpur side. Can't the police see that?" BJP pioneer Locket Chatterjee was cited as saying by news office.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to turn the party's demonstration into a violent protest. "We are protesting democratically, but Mamata Ji has tried to turn our peaceful demonstration into a violent protest. Goons along with police pelted stones at us," Vijayvargiya was quoted as saying.

Four massive rallies, two each from Kolkata and Howrah, marched towards Nabanna in Shibpur in Howrah district, BJP sources told news agency. Meanwhile, the ruling Trinamool Congress government in the state on Wednesday refused permission to the event citing the Pandemic Act and said that democratic rallies within "permissible parameters” of just 100 participants will be given clearance. Earlier, the state government has also announced that Nabanna will remain shut for two days from October 8 for "sanitisation” work.

TMC leader Firhad Hakim, said, "BJP only believes in violence and terror. They are doing the same thing in Gujarat and in Uttar Pradesh and now they are trying to disturb Bengal. People in Bengal will never forgive them for such a violent attitude."