West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee stops, scolds cops, lets cars pass

KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday got out of her car and rebuked traffic cops posted at Teghoria crossing on VIP Road for halting traffic on the service roads and the main thoroughfare to facilitate smooth movement of her convoy. The CM then asked her convoy to park at the side and asked officers to allow free movement of vehicles. She stood there for a good four-and-a-half minutes till normal traffic movement resumed on the stretch before leaving.
Banerjee was returning from the airport around 5.45pm on Thursday with a convoy of nine vehicles. It is usual protocol — followed by cops across the state — to stop traffic movement on main thoroughfares and crossover points to ensure any VIP passing through gets a free passage without the hassle of getting stuck in snarls or slow traffic. Banerjee has time and again tried to defy this protocol and has often instructed cops in public not to hamper traffic movement for her passage. On Thursday, seeing a number of vehicles stopped on the service roads parallel to VIP Road to allow her smooth passage, she asked her convoy to pull over and rebuked the cops.
“She stood there till the cops removed the barricades and allowed free movement of vehicles. She left the area only after traffic movement had normalized,” said an auto driver.
In Video:CM Mamata Banerjee halts own convoy and lets normal traffic resume in Bengal