BJP-Trinamool political slugfest continues over clashes in Kolkata

Kolkata, March 15 (IANS) The political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Trinamool Congress continued on Sunday over clashes between the supporters of the two parties at Girish Park in central Kolkata.

The clashes occurred before the address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the city on Saturday afternoon, in which an inspector of Kolkata Police and a member of the West Bengal cabinet were reportedly injured.

With the police having arrested four persons in connection with the clashes so far following nightlong operations, the West Bengal unit of the BJP has claimed that the action had been one-sided. The BJP has claimed that its supporters were targeted and tension was fuelled by the ruling party activists who attacked a bus carrying supporters to PM Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata.

While neither the Trinamool Congress nor the BJP had registered FIRs in the matter, the city police started an investigation after registering an FIR and arresting four persons, three of whom are active BJP supporters, namely Krishanu Bose, Sunny Dey, and Charanjit Singh.

BJP councillor in Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Sajal Ghosh, has claimed that none of the three BJP supporters arrested in connection with the case was present anywhere near the place of trouble when the clashes broke out.

“I challenge Kolkata Police to release the CCTV footage. Let their mobile tower locations during the time of trouble also be released. The police, at the insistence of Trinamool Congress, have arrested them unnecessarily and also slapped attempted murder charges on them,” Ghosh said.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee condemned that development, in which the West Bengal Minister for Women & Child Development and Social Welfare Department, Dr Sashi Panja, was reportedly injured and said that it was not just an attack on a women minister but also an attack on every woman in the state.

“This is the BJP’s culture. These outsiders want to import their politics of provocation to West Bengal. They want to destroy peace. They want to spread fear. This will neither be forgiven nor forgotten. West Bengal will not tolerate BJP’s saffron hooliganism,” said Banerjee.

Already, on Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) had sought a detailed report from the Kolkata Police Commissioner, Supratim Sarkar, on the clashes.

The EC also sought a report on the attack on Minister Shashi Panja’s residence in the aftermath of clashes from a senior state government official.

The poll panel further sought a detailed explanation as to why central paramilitary forces, which have already been deployed in the state for the upcoming Assembly polls, were not used to control the situation.

–IANS

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