Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was heckled and his supporters were assaulted by a group of locals in the Darjeeling hills on Thursday.
Mr. Ghosh, who is on a two-day visit to Darjeeling, was addressing a meeting in an auditorium when some locals started protesting and disrupting his speech. The State BJP chief came out of the auditorium with his supporters but the locals followed them.
Cap knocked off
Mr. Ghosh and his supporters were chased and those trying to protect him were pushed and shoved, and a few were severely beaten up. In one video footage of the attack, the Gorkha cap worn by Mr. Ghosh is seen being knocked off by a local with an umbrella.
Mr. Ghosh alleged that supporters of rebel Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binoy Tamang were behind the attack. He alleged that the police did not provide any protection and he along with his supporters had to walk all the way to the Darjeeling police station to take refuge and lodge a complaint.
Stand on Gorkhaland
Over the past two days, the State BJP chief has faced several rounds of protests by locals. Though GJM president Bimal Gurung has asked people to welcome the BJP delegation, Mr. Ghosh was repeatedly asked by locals to clear his party’s stand on the issue of Gorkhaland.
A strike over the demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland, which continued for 100 days, was lifted on September 27. Mr. Ghosh is one of the first leaders from the plains to visit the hills after withdrawal of the strike.