Several workers and leaders of the BJP were taken into custody during a march to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters on Monday to protest against the fake vaccination racket.
Hundreds of BJP workers took part in the protest and clashed with the police in central Kolkata. Among those taken into custody were BJP MLA and head of party’s women wing Agnimitra Paul and BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu. There was a huge deployment of police to control the first major law violation event organised after the Trinamool Congress government came to power for the third consecutive time in May 2021.
The State BJP leadership said more than 50 leaders were arrested. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the police restored to unprovoked use of force. “What has the Trinamool Congress government to fear that they are preventing a peaceful protest,” Mr. Ghosh asked. The State BJP president said administering fake vaccines to hundreds of people was a serious issue and could not be brushed under the carpet. The fake vaccination scam came to fore in the end of June 2021 when hundreds of people were administered fake vaccines by an impostor claiming to be an IAS officer.
The Kolkata police had refused to grant permission for the protest and added those participating in it would be booked under laws to contain the pandemic. “When the TMC was in the opposition, they used to conduct programmes without any permission. And now if we want to hold a political event, we are prevented from doing so,” Mr. Ghosh said.
Senior Trinamool Congress leaders Partha Chatterjee and Firhad Hakim said the protest by the BJP was to remain relevant as they were not able to digest defeat in the Assembly polls.
Mr. Ghosh said the Trinamool Congress government had been evading civic polls for more than a year. Mr. Partha Chatterjee said the party was fully prepared to face any polls.
