The BJP protest march conducted in West Bengal’s Howrah yesterday turned into a war zone after the protestors turned violent, clashing with cops.
The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) conducted its protest march against the West Bengal government in Howrah district today, where it attempted to march to the state secretariat. The protest march soon turned violent, with Howrah turning into a war zone between the protestors and the police.
Hundreds of BJP supporters attempted to cross the barricades and clashed with the police, causing a disturbance in parts of Howrah and Kolkata during the Nabanna Abhijan march launched against the Trinamool Congress government in the state.
A police vehicle was also set on fire during the march organised to protest against the alleged corrupt practices of the Trinamool Congress government. Several police officers and saffron camp members, including leaders Mina Devi Purohit and Swapan Dasgupta, were reportedly injured during the rally.
While the BJP alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government does not want to give space to opposition parties, the TMC described the saffron camp workers as ‘hooligans'.
Sharing a video of people carrying BJP flags setting ablaze a police vehicle, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted, “Today, not just Bengal but the nation saw a glimpse of what @BJP4Bengal hooligans are capable of doing to our City of Joy.”
A War of words erupted between the TMC and the BJP when IT Cell chief Amit Malviya of the former posted a retaliation tweet, alleging that stones were pelted in the protests by “TMC cadres” sent by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
As the Nabanna march in the districts turned violent in a span of a few hours, the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the agitators, who tried to go past the barricades that were put in place at several points in Kolkata and its adjoining areas.
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. BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh, who led the protesters near Howrah bridge, left the site in the midst of a lathi-charge on his party's supporters.
(With PTI inputs)
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