Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 28: The 12-hour “West Bengal Bandh” call given by the BJP to protest against the alleged police excesses on the marchers to the state secretariat “Nabanna” on Tuesday, met with partial success on Wednesday as daily life was somewhat affected in parts of the state while in most other parts the life was normal.
In state capital Kolkata, the usual business on the roads on a weekday morning was missing with a lesser number of buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis plying. Private vehicles were also significantly less in numbers, even as markets and shops remained open as usual. Schools and colleges remained open, while in most private offices attendance was lesser as many of the employees were asked to work from home.
The call for the Bandh was given by the state unit president of the BJP Sukanta Majumdar, who is also a minister at the Centre, after a pitched battle between the police and the protesters trying to storm the state secretariat demanding the resignation of the chief minister Mamata Banerjee holding her responsible for the horrific rape and murder of the trainee postgraduate doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. The Bandh call was also supported by the BJP national president and the union health minster JP Nadda.
Barring an incident of alleged attack on a BJP leader with bombs and bullets reportedly by the Trinamool Congress workers, the situation by and large remained under control in most parts of the state including in Kolkata, except for skirmishes in different locations in the state capital between the BJP workers and the police as the demonstrators tried to break the barricades installed by the police leading to the arrests of several BJP leaders.
BJP workers clashed with the police at several places across West Bengal as they tried to enforce the 12-hour shutdown. Several BJP leaders, including former MPs Roopa Ganguly and Locket Chatterjee, Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya and MLA Agnimitra Paul, were detained for blocking roads since the morning. Amid the BJP’s 12-hour ‘Bengal Bandh,’ the party’s Jalpaiguri MP Jayanta Kumar Roy’s car was allegedly gheraoed by the TMC workers in Siliguri. A stone was also reportedly pelted at the Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha MP’s car, who left the spot after a while. Police personnel were also present at the spot.
In Bhatpara in north 24-Parganas district, a local BJP leader was allegedly attacked with bombs and was also shot at allegedly by the activists of the ruling Trinamool Congress. Eight unidentified persons were arrested hours after the BJP alleged that TMC workers hurled bombs and fired shots at party leader Priyangu Pandey’s car in Bhatpara. The TMC refuted the allegation claiming that no TMC worker was involved in the incident which could had been caused by some personal enmity.
“Today I was going to our leader Arjun Singh’s residence. We moved some distance and the road was blocked by a jetting machine from Bhatpara Municipality. The moment our car stopped, around 50-60 people targeted the vehicle. 7 to 8 bombs were thrown at my vehicle and then 6-7 round firing was done. This is a joint conspiracy of TMC and the Police. They planned my murder. The police supported and gave information. My security was withdrawn and then this incident happened,” Pandey alleged.
The BJP leader also mentioned that his driver had been shot at and others sustained wounds. “There are two people who are severely injured among the other seven,” he added. The BJP also shared visuals of the attack on protesters. Police officials, meanwhile, recovered empty bomb shells from near the spot where BJP leader Priyangu Pandey was allegedly attacked.
Rejecting the BJP’s claim of “grand success” of its bandh call, the TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh counter-claimed that the people of West Bengal had rejected the BJP’s bandh call. “We all want justice in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case. Mamata Banerjee also wants justice…the case is now in CBI’s hands…One accused has been arrested…now the CBI is investigating the matter…They (BJP) are trying to create anarchy here, yesterday they attacked the police and today they have called this bandh…Everything is normal in Bengal…The people of West Bengal have rejected BJP’s bandh,” Mr Ghosh claimed.
Ms Banerjee condemned BJP’s 12-hour ‘Bengal Bandh’ and called it an attempt to “defame” West Bengal. “We have dedicated this day to the R.G. Kar doctor. We want justice but BJP today called for a bandh. They don’t want justice, they are only trying to defame Bengal,” Mamata Banerjee said. She further criticised the ‘Bandh’ and supported the police actions on the protestors of Nabanna Abhijan rally who had turned violent and had attacked the police with only one-point political agenda of seeking her resignation ignoring the main demand of justice for the rape and murder victim, she added.
She wondered how the BJP behaved differently in different states. While the BJP approached to Bombay High Court to declare the “Maharashtra bandh call” by the opposition parties there as “illegal” earlier this week, in Bengal the same party was giving the bandh call and shockingly its central leadership was supporting the party’s illegal act.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court today dismissed a plea against the 12-hour ‘Bangla Bandh’ called by the BJP since the petitioner was debarred perpetually from filing public interest litigations (PIL) before the court in a previous order. Petitioner Sanjoy Das, who claimed to be a lawyer practising at the high court, sought that the bandh be declared illegal.