Routine army exercise in Kolkata derails Parliament session

The Opposition parties led by Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday raised the issue of the presence of Army personnel at toll plazas ‘in various parts’ of West Bengal in both Houses of Parliament. In Kolkata, a furious Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said  army deployment was in “clear violation of the Constitution” and was a bid to “create a civil war like situation in the country”. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, however, rejected the allegation, describing it as a routine exercise which was earlier conducted in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. “It is done in different states with the consent of officials,” said Parrikar. Protesting Banerjee spent the night in the Secretariat in Kolkata dubbing it as a ‘military coup’.

On Thursday, soldiers in fatigues were seen checking vehicles at the Vidyasagar Setu toll plaza in Howrah about 500 metres away from Nabanna, the state secretariat, which also houses the Chief Minister’s office. Banerjee tweeted, “Very unfortunate. Army stationed in front of Nabanna the Bengal State Secretariat in a high security zone, in spite of Police objection... I am waiting here at the Secretariat and watching, to guard our democracy.”

The Opposition that saw a conspiracy in the emergency landing of her service flight in Kolkata on Wednesday evening despite pilot’s alarm over the fuel running short, whipped up a charge of attempt to throw her out of power with the Army’s help.

There was a slanging match of allegations for over half an hour until Parrikar in the Lok Sabha and his MoS Subhash Bhamre in the Rajya Sabha were able to explain that it was a routine data collection exercise carried out by the army every year on availability of vehicles during any emergency. The Army also released letters to show that it was in communication with the WB police.