Governor condemns police action on Left-Cong activists in Kolkata

West Bengal GovernorJagdeep Dhankhar on Friday condemned the police action onstudent and youth activists of the Left in Kolkata, statingeveryone has the right to peacefully protest in a democracy.

Speaking to reporters after attending a programme inJoygopalpur in Basanti in the South 24 Parganas district,Dhankhar expressed hope that the upcoming elections would beconducted in a transparent manner, and said it is just amatter of time that Bengal will again become 'shonar Bangla'.

''People have every right to peacefully protest againstthe government if they have some issue. Police did not do theright thing by baton-charging the protestors,'' he said.

Activists of the Left and Congress, demanding jobs,clashed with the police in central Kolkata's Esplanade area onThursday afternoon as they tried to break through barricadesduring their march towards state secretariat Nabanna.

Left leaders claimed that a large number of theiractivists were injured as the police used water cannon, teargas and then baton-charged the protestors who found itdifficult to escape the police action as most of the roadswere barricaded. Police said that many of their officers werealso injured in the clash.

The governor also warned government officials againstgetting involved in ''immoral activities'' ahead of the stateelections.

''Those who work in the government have got their jobsby proving their merits. Give dignity to the work and don'tget involved in politics. Also, stay away from immoralactivities,'' Dhankhar said.

He expressed hope that the elections in Bengal wouldbe conducted in a transparent manner and in a peacefulatmosphere.

Dhankhar said it is just a matter of time that Bengalwill again become 'shonar Bangla'.

The BJP has promised to turn the state into 'shonarBangla', meaning a prosperous state, if voted to power.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)