During the saffron party's 'Nabanna Chalo' protest march against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government, clashes between Bharatiya Janata Party workers and West Bengal Police took place on Thursday.
Clashes broke out after the BJP workers gathered outside the party's state headquarters in Kolkata to participate in the 'Nabanna Chalo' movement, raising anti-Mamta Banerjee government slogans.
West Bengal Police had to use tear gas, water cannon to disperse BJP workers at Santragachhi in Howrah during the saffron party's 'Nabanna Chalo.'
Protesting the "deteriorating law and order situation" in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party's state unit on Thursday took out a protest march for the state secretariat Nabanna. At noon, the protest began on four different points - BJP's headquarters on Central Avenue, Hastings, Howrah Maidan, and Santragachhi.
The BJP leadership had earlier claimed that a few lakh saffron supporters would join in the march. BJP supporters have arrived from various districts and gathered at four starting points.
The "Nabanna Abhiyan" has been called the party's youth arm by the BJP's Yuva Morcha.
The BJP's young hand activists organized a protest program near Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat, shouting slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' during the day. BJP supporters were also stopped at Dankuni in Kolkata's neighboring Hooghly district. Police had to resort to a light baton charge to disperse the gathering.
The protest march is the final push against the BJP's strategy and the ruling Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, as the state assembly elections are due in April-May next year.
The Mamta Banerjee-led state government announced that the building would remain closed for two days on October 8 and 9 "for the COVID-19 cleanliness campaign".
A large contingent of police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) was deployed in and around the Nabanno area to control any untoward incident during the protest march. Police officers have been seen conducting aerial surveillance at various entry points using drone equipment. According to sources, around 2,000 police personnel have been deployed only in Kolkata.
An adequate number of water cannons and iron barricades are placed on stand-by near the state secretariat building and a steel wall has also been erected to prevent the security armor from breaking. The entire area is surrounded by bamboo barricades.
The state BJP leadership also termed the decision to close Nabono as a reflection of the fear of the Trinamool Congress.