Published 17:49 IST, October 9th 2020
BJP's Dilip Ghosh on cases against party leaders: 'Kolkata police working like TMC cadre'
Following registration of cases against senior BJP leaders, West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh said the Kolkata Police is working like Trinamool Congress cadre
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Following registration of cases against senior BJP leaders, West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh said the Kolkata Police is working like Trinamool Congress cadre and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is scared of the party.
The city police on Friday booked BJP national secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya, national vice president Mukul Roy, MPs Locket Chatterjee, Arjun Singh, Rakesh Singh, and other leaders, Bharati Ghosh and Jayprakash Majumdar for "unlawful assembly" a day after the party’s ‘Nabanna Chalo’ protest march to the state secretariat in Kolkata turned violent.
"Police are working like Trinamool Congress cadre. It is clear that CM Mamata Banerjee is scared and is hence using police as her cadre. The cases lodged against us are shameful. This is not how a democracy works, we will fight legally," Dilip Ghosh told news agency ANI.
Violence in Kolkata, heated exchanges
Clashes broke out between the West Bengal Police and BJP workers as the saffron party leaders launched their 'Nabanna Chalo' march against the 'worsening' law and order situation in the state. While Mamata Banerjee's administration had denied permission for the march, the BJP workers tried to break through barricades even as state secretariat Nabanna remained shut. Subsequently, the police resorted to water cannons and lathicharge to disperse the mob.
Police alleged that the COVID-19 pandemic protocol was not being followed. However, refuting the claims, Kailash Vijayvargiya said that all workers are wearing masks.
"Are rules only for us? Mamata Ji holds demonstrations with thousands, and we're being taught lessons of social distancing. Do same rules not apply to her?" asked BJP leader Locket Chatterjee who alleged excessive use of force by police to disperse BJP workers.
Other party leaders alleged that TMC workers, with tacit support from the police, hurled stones while reports stated of crude bombs being hurled at policemen, which the BJP denied.
BJP president JP Nadda later in the day lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee government and the TMC for unleashing "brute force" upon BJP workers in an attempt to prevent them from holding protests against the CM's "tyrannical and bloodied misrule" in West Bengal.
"Beating up peaceful protestors, hurling country-made bombs and using water cannon on their protest march show Mamata Banerjee’s frustration because she knows that her days in power are numbered and the people of Bengal have made up their mind to throw out her tyrannical government,” Nadda said in a series of strongly-worded posts on Twitter.
The West Bengal government had cited the pandemic to deny permission for a major gathering during the BJP youth wing's scheduled "March to Nabanna" on Thursday and had said peaceful and democratic rallies within "permissible parameters" of only 100 people would be allowed. The government had also announced that Nabanna will be shut for two days from October 8 "for sanitization purpose".
Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said 113 BJP workers were arrested from several parts of Kolkata and Howrah, and added that arms were also recovered from them. As per reports, several police and RAF personnel were also injured in the clashes while the BJP, on the other hand, claimed that over 1,000 of its party workers received injuries and over 500 of them were detained during the protests.
17:49 IST, October 9th 2020