Kolkata: Following clashes in West Bengal's Howrah in BJP's 'Nabanna Abhijan' rally, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday sought a report of the incident from West Bengal's Home Secretary by September 19. It further directed police in the state to not illegally detain anyone, apart from ensuring no damage is dealt to any public property.
This comes after BJP moved the HC earlier in the day, urging action against government officials for the police action on workers and supporters of the party. It sought a hearing before a division bench held by the Chief Justice.
Several BJP leaders were detained on Tuesday during the party’s march to the West Bengal secretariat building in Howrah even as police using water cannons and tear gas shells to stop and disperse the workers of the saffron party in Santragachhi area of Howrah, amid their call for Nabanna Chalo march. Among those detained include the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee, Taapshi Mondol, Rahul Sinha, Dibankar Gharami and others.
The BJP is holding a march against the alleged corruption by the ruling Trinamool Congress. Hundreds of saffron party supporters from across the state arrived in Kolkata and neighbouring Howrah on Tuesday morning to take part in the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ or march to the secretariat.
Before the detention, Adhikari said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost the support of people and turned West Bengal into North Korea. "Chief Minister Mamata does not have the support of her people and so she is enforcing dictatorship, similar to North Korea in Bengal. Police will have to pay for what it is doing since Monday. BJP is coming," Adhikari said.
He said that the police under CM Mamata Banerjee was on 'war footing' to destroy the democratic right to protest. "Mamata Police is on a war footing, trying to crush a democratic political event. The barricade of steel raised at Santragachi symbolizes her anxiety & timidity. They are trampling upon the Fundamental Rights of citizens ensured by Article 19 of The Constitution Of India: # to assemble peaceably # to move freely throughout the territory of India" Adhikari tweeted on Tuesday.
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The police put up barricades on roads leading up to Nabanna on Tuesday morning, as Adhikari alongside Lok Sabha member Locket Chatterjee and leader Rahul Sinha was picked up from the entrance to the Vidyasagar Setu connecting Kolkata with Howrah's Mandirtala, where the State Secretariat is located. According to reports, Howrah Bridge, Second Hooghly Bridge and the city's Esplanade areas have all been barricaded to prevent the movement of the rally.
Adhikari's detention has essentially cut off what was planned to be a part of BJP's tri-armed rally, with the other two scheduled to be led by state chief Sukanta Majumder and former Bengal BJP head Dilip Ghosh from Howrah Maidan and College Street respectively.
This is the saffron party’s biggest campaign against the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government since its defeat in the Assembly elections last year. West Bengal Police denied permission for the protest and imposed Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure, which prohibits large gatherings, around the secretariat building, The Indian Express reported. Several BJP workers from across the state were also detained by the police.
On Tuesday, Adhikari denounced the police action and alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was enforcing a dictatorship in the state. “Mamata [Banerjee] doesn’t have the support of her people and so she is enforcing dictatorship, similar to North Korea in Bengal,” Adhikari told ANI. “The police will have to pay for what it has been doing since yesterday...BJP is coming.”
