The West Bengal unit of the CPI(M) and their Left Front allies staged a “token demonstration” on Saturday in central Kolkata during lockdown against the alleged corruption in the PDS system and suppression of information related to the COVID-19 outbreak by the state government.
Even as all the Left Front leaders were wearing masks and claimed to maintain social distancing during the protest demonstration, they were arrested for violating the lockdown. A scuffle broke out between the agitators and police when the Left Front leaders were being put in prison vans.
CPI(M) state secretary Surjyakanta Mishra said that the state government must provide daily updates regarding the red zones, orange zones and COVID-19 hotspots in Bengal so that people can cooperate even more to enforce the lockdown.
The Left leadership further alleged that in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, medical facilities for treatment of other ailments have crumbled in the state.
Interestingly CPI(M) Politburo member Md. Salim said that if anyone present in the “token demonstration” gets infected by COVID-19, Kolkata Police will be responsible for it.
“It was Kolkata Police who violated social distancing not us,” said Salim.
However, Left Front’s ally in the state Congress did not take part in the demonstration as they have decided not to hold any public demonstration during the lockdown.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury alleged that police violated guidelines while arresting Left Front leaders.
“TMC govt must release them. Now. #COVID19 has destroyed lives & livelihoods. State govt must respond to that instead of trying to bully us by arrests while we are strictly following guidelines & precautions. The police violated guidelines, in how they arrested!” tweeted Yechury.
Meanwhile, the death toll in West Bengal due to COVID-19 rose to 12 and the number of active cases went up to 178 in the state. The information was provided by Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha during a media briefing at the state secretariat.