BJP workers clashed with the police during their march to Bengal secretariat "Nabanna".
Trinamool Congress's Sougata Roy today took the BJP head on over their charge of "dictatorship" against Mamata Banerjee following the huge violence during yesterday's BJP protests in Kolkata and nearby Howrah against the alleged corruption by the Mamata Banerjee government. Suvendu Adhikari, Ms Banerjee's aide-turned-chief rival, had accused her of running a dictatorship much like North Korea.
Declaring that the Bengal police have shown "tremendous restraint" in face of "extreme provocation" the Trinamool MP said, "Where did Mamata Banerjee show dictatorship? The programme (BJP rally) has been continuing since noon. The police have not fired on anybody".
Claiming that the intention of the BJP was to provoke the police so they resort to firing, he said, "The BJP workers have thrown stones and bricks at random. They have injured several policemen including IPS officers. They have broken cars in Burrabazar area... Very few BJP people have been injured. In every tv screen you can see BJP workers throwing stones".
Parts of Kolkata and Howrah had turned into battle zone yesterday as the BJP workers clashed with the police during their march to the state secretariat "Nabanna". Visuals from the city showed pitched battles on some main roads and lanes, with flag waving BJP supporters taking on the police with bamboo poles. Stones were thrown and a police car was set on fire. The police tried to control the mob with batons, water cannons and tear gas.
Injured protesters were seen lying on the road. Several policemen, including one IPS officer, also sustained injuries, Mr Roy said.
The police, he said, did not wish to injure people. "Do you remember 25 July 1993? Thirteen Trinamool Congress workers were killed in police firing in the city of Calcutta," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview, pointing to what is now marked by the party as Martyr's Day. "Have the police fired even one round today? If this is not democracy, what is?" he added.
The BJP has alleged the use of "disproportionate force" on part of the state police and claimed they had the mandate from the state government to do so.
Union Minister Subhas Sarkar had accused the Bengal police of throwing stones at the crowd. "The police provoked the men to attack. The police provoked a peaceful demonstration. The common people came. They were angry," he had told NDTV, insisting that he was not justifying violence.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not have the support of her people and so she is enforcing dictatorship, similar to North Korea, in Bengal. The police will have to pay for what it is doing. The BJP is coming," alleged Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who was detained by the police along with other senior leaders of the party.
"The BJP did a clever thing," Mr Roy said. "Their main leader Suvendu Adhikari sheepishly courted arrest. Went away so he didn't have to face the consequences. Their state president Sukanto Bhattacharya sat on a dharna and got arrested. Their idea was that leaders will get arrested and then workers will create mayhem. Unfortunately, they did not have so many workers nor did they have trained workers," Mr Roy added.
Regarding BJP claims that the turnout of the protest today was an indicator of the people's anger against the Trinamool Congress, Mr Roy said it was a "fake crowd".
The people have not come out, he said. Those seen in the protest were state BJP workers, many of whom were paid Rs 1,200 each to come. The BJP spent Rs 3 crore to pay them, another Rs 2 crore to bring them in buses. "Even if you give the BJP injection they will not become a force," he added.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/tMWxwEl https://ift.tt/guXWfNC
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