Kolkata: BJP leadership in West Bengal on Monday, gave a war cry to conduct a protest rally demanding a reduction in state value added tax (VAT) on petroleum products even though the city police denied permission for the same. The permission was denied citing the recent COVD-19 related restrictions.
The procession was supposed to start from the BJP state headquarter at Muralidhar Sen Lane in central Kolkata and was supposed to be led by the BJP state president, Sukanta Majumdar and the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari.
However, following a tactical move by the city police, the protest rally became a virtually flop show and the BJP leaders got limited to a place near the party-state headquarters.
The rally started on Monday at noon. But was soon blocked by a huge police contingent who cordoned the crowd from all sides through heavy guardrails. The BJP leaders, accompanying the crowd had to remain satisfied with addressing the gathering from within the cordoned area.
Sukanta Majumdar said that this blockade proves how sacred the Trinamool Congress-ruled state government is of BJP. “This is our moral victory. But I will suggest that the state government reduce VAT on petrol and diesel instead of trying to suppress the democratic protests by the opposition. The common people will gain out of that,” he said.
Suvendu Adhikari said that the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee is maintaining a complete dichotomy on the issue of petrol and diesel price. “Till yesterday, she had been scathing in her attack against the Union government on the rising petrol price. And now that the central government has reduced tax by Rs 10 a liter and also the BJP- ruled states have reduced their respective VATs on the same, the state government is silent on reduction of VAT. This is a complete dichotomy,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the BJP legislators also staged a protest at the lobby of the West Bengal assembly on the same issue. After that all the BJP legislators came to state BJP headquarter to participate in the rally.
However, because of the tactical move of the police to cordon off the crowd from all positions, the rally could not happen. Some of the BJP supporters tried to break through the barricade and there were minor skirmishes between the police personnel and the BJP supporters. However, the tension over that could not take a serious shape.
The BJP leaders said that on Tuesday also they will protest demanding the reduction in state VAT on petrol and diesel and petrol in West Bengal.
Trinamool Congress leadership has described that protest rally as sheer drama. “The reduction in the central tax on petrol and diesel is the result of BJP’s humiliating defeat in the recent by-elections in West Bengal as well as in other states,” said Trinamool Congress leader and minister, Chandrima Bhattacharya.
