BJP workers and supporters clashed with the police, threw stones and blocked roads.
Highlight
- BJP workers, supporters protesting the killings of party workers
- The violence started outside the “Nabanna” state secretariat
- Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad blamed Mamata Banerjee for violence
New Delhi:
The BJP’s top leadership today blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the violence and clashes that swept through the city as the party staged a protest march in violation of prohibitive orders banning large gatherings. BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that despite Mamata Banerjee’s concerns about democracy, his government did not follow its principles.
“Does your state have the right to protest or not? Protesters are killed. Because the ground under their feet is moving, because the BJP won 18 seats in Lok Sabha,” he said.
The violence that began outside the “Nabanna” state secretariat had exploded, engulfing various parts of the city that looked like battle zones.
BJP workers and supporters clashed with the police, throwing stones and blocking roads with burning tires, to protest a series of killings of saffron party workers.
“There were more than 1 lakh people at the march and more than 1,500 party workers were injured,” Prasad said.
Denouncing the violence in the state, Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “Will Mamata-ji stop the expansion of the BJP in Bengal with sticks and the brutality of the police? The people of Bengal want change.”
“There is a lot of uproar regarding the BJP-ruled states, but why the silence on Bengal?” added.
BJP chief JP Nada tweeted: “Mamata Banerjee’s Karyakartas and the government machine run by her have unleashed brute force on BJP Karyakartas in an attempt to prevent them from protesting their tyrannical and bloody misrule in West Bengal Such an abuse of power is totally unacceptable and reprehensible. “
Mamata Banerjee’s Karyakartas and the government machinery run by her have unleashed brute force on the BJP Karyakartas in an attempt to prevent them from protesting their tyrannical and bloody misrule in West Bengal. Such abuse of power is totally unacceptable and reprehensible.
– Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) October 8, 2020
Across the city, the BJP had held three marches and all were heading towards the Secretary of State. The largest of them, from Maidan, was led by Tejasvi Surya, the new head of the party’s youth wing who flew to Calcutta for the event.
The protesters were stopped midway, prompting angry BJP supporters to attack the police with stones. When they tried to tear down the barricades, the police responded with tear gas canisters.
An unknown number of protesters were arrested. Police claimed they recovered a loaded pistol from one of the protesters. Police also said that BJP workers were attacking them with raw bombs, an accusation that the BJP denied.
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