Violent clashes erupt between BJP, police during secretariat march; WB burning under Mamata, says Nadda

Several BJP activists, including some senior leaders, were injured

Clashes erupted between BJP workers and police at several places of Kolkata and Howrah district of West Bengal on Thursday as the saffron party’s March to the State Secretariat turned violent.

While BJP workers resorted to stone-pelting at the police and tried to barge through the barricades, police retaliated with lobbing tear gas shells, using water cannons and baton charging BJP workers to disperse the crowd. Newly appointed BJYM president Tejasvi Surya was also present in Howrah.

Majority of the clashes took place in Howrah. Trouble started when large BJP procession led by Surya and state BJYM president Soumitra Khan were stopped by police. Soon after BJP workers became aggressive and started pelting stones at police.

At first police personnel tried to disperse the mob by lobbing tear gas shells but the attempt did not succeed. Then the Rapid Action Force (RAF) baton charged the BJP workers to disperse them. Police claimed to have seized a pistol from a BJP worker alleging that the protesters even hurled crude bombs at them.

Several BJP workers and leaders were injured in clash with police. While state BJP vice president Raju Banerjee fell ill during the protest and was hospitalised, national secretary Arvind Menon was injured and admitted a to private health facility in Kolkata. Later in the day Chief Secretary Alapon Bandypadhyay said that 89 agitators were detained by Kolkata Police and 24 were detained by Howrah City Police. He also said that several police personnel were injured.

Speaking to reporters later in the day Surya dubbed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government as the “most corrupt” in the country.

“In last two years more than 120 BJP and BJYM workers have been murdered in the state. Mamata didi is afraid of the Yuva Morcha and that is why she shut down Nabanna (as the State Secretariat is called),” said Surya.

READ: BJP cadres mercilessly assaulted by cops, rule of law murdered in Bengal: BJYM President Tejasvi Surya

Taking potshots at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee BJP president J P Nadda tweeted "The only thing Mamata Banerjee’s government has done better than the previous Left regimes is increase brutality and political violence against political opponents. Bengal has been burning under her administration, which patronises violent elements."

He also said that BJP and the people of Bengal will end the TMC regime in Bengal.

"I want to clearly tell her again that BJP karyakartas have resolved to fight her corrupt, violent and dictatorial rule democratically to restore Bengal’s lost glory and pride. The people of Bengal and BJP will defeat her regime lock, stock and barrel. #NabannoCholo," tweeted Nadda.