Mamata Banerjee stages sit-in against BJP claim on poll violence victims

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is taking part in a sit-in demonstration organised by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) outside the Naihati municipality to protest against the violence on party workers after the Lok Sabha poll results.

The decision comes a day after Banerjee said she would not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, citing "untrue" claims made by the BJP that 54 of its workers were killed in political violence in Bengal.

The TMC supremo had on Tuesday said she would attend the ceremony to be held in New Delhi on Thursday.

Incidentally, the Naihati municipality is located in the Barrackpore area of North 24 Parganas district, which has witnessed violent clashes between TMC and BJP workers since the results of the Lok Sabha polls were announced on May 23.

The BJP won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, only four less than the TMC's 22. The remaining two seats were bagged by the Congress, while the Left Front drew a blank.