Normal life was paralysed in different parts of West Bengal on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) due to a 12-hour bandh called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in protest against alleged police excesses on protesters during the march to the State Secretariat on Tuesday (August 27, 2024).
The BJP supporters sat on railway tracks at several places, affecting suburban train services, and party workers blocked major arterial routes disrupting vehicular movement. While the culture of bandhs, the hallmark of the Left Front regime and used extensively by the Trinamool Congress when it was in the Opposition, is no more prevalent in the State, the strike on Wednesday witnessed violence between those for and against it.
Trinamool supporters were out on the streets in Kolkata and other parts of the State trying to foil the bandh call. Violence broke out when BJP and Trinamool workers came face to face. While the saffron outfit tried to enforce the bandh, the Trinamool attempted to keep establishments functional.
State BJP president Sukanata Majumdar called the bandh a “success” and wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah on the law and order situation in the State. “I have written to Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah to apprise him of the alarming law and order situation in WB. CM Mamata Banerjee’s recent anti-national remarks, threatening unrest across states, are deeply concerning,” he posted on social media.
Mr. Majumdar was referring to the comments Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made at a party rally where she said, “Modi babu (Prime Minister), you are trying burn Bengal. But remember, if you burn Bengal, Assam, the North-East, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Delhi will also burn.”
The State government had announced several measures to thwart the strike and the Trinamool leadership said the bandh did not have much impact. But there were sporadic clashes between BJP and Trinamool workers throughout the day. In North Kolkata, BJP leader Sajal Ghosh and Trinamool supporters clashed. Several BJP leaders, including Agnimitra Paul and Roopa Ganguly, were detained by the Kolkata Police for trying to halt transport facilities and force-shut commercial establishments.
BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh was seen asking passengers to get off a bus while holding a placard demanding justice for the doctor who was raped and murdered at the R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. BJP leader Arjun Singh was seen arguing with Trinamool supporters when police intervened.
In Bhatpara, bullets were fired at the vehicle of a BJP leader. Two people sustained injuries in the attack that was caught on camera. There was violence in Durgapur and Asansol. “Bharatiya Janata Party member Diptarup Mandal, Yuva Morcha general secretary Abhik Mandal and other karyakartas have been seriously injured in the brutal attack by TMC goons and Mamata Police at Ballavpur; Asansol South Assembly Constituency. Brute force is being unleashed to attack,” Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari wrote on X.
At the party rally, Ms. Banerjee announced that her government will table a Bill in the Assembly to give death penalty to those convicted of rape. The Chief Minister urged doctors to return to work, but the protesting doctors rejected her appeal.
Published - August 28, 2024 10:18 pm IST
