Police use water cannon on BJP workers trying to reach Kolkata for Nabanna Abhiyan. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)West Bengal Nabanna Abhiyan Live: The West Bengal police action against BJP workers trying to reach Kolkata for Nabanna Abhiyan (march to secretariat), one of the party’s biggest campaigns since its 2021 poll defeat, continued on Tuesday morning, with thousands of party workers arrested or detained in several districts. Several BJP leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee, Taapshi Mondol and Dibankar Gharami were detained.
Police stopped BJP workers’ vehicles in many places such as Haldia and Nandigram. As per the BJP’s plan, rallies from three points will try to reach Nabanna, the state secretariat. Adhikari was set to lead a rally from Satraganchi, while party state chief Sukanta Majumdar is to lead one from Howrah Maidan. Former state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh will lead workers from College Street. The last time the state BJP carried out such a large-scale campaign was in 2020.
Police deployed at Kolkata and Howrah diverted traffic from many central Kolkata roads from early morning. The Howrah bridge, the Second Hoogly bridge and Esplanade were barricaded to prevent the BJP worker’s movement. Adhikari criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, “Mamata Police is on a war footing, trying to crush a democratic political event. The barricade of steel raised at Santragachi symbolizes her anxiety & timidity. Remember this @MamataOfficial, no wall can stand up to the ‘wave of democracy’, it would be breached sooner than later,” the former Trinamool leader tweeted.
Security personnel deployed on the NH 117, barricaded to stop BJP supporters from taking part in the party's 'Nabanna Abhiyan' (March to Secretariat), in Howrah district, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
BJP workers, led by party state president Sukanta Majumder and national Vice President Dilip Ghosh, have commenced marches from Howrah Maidan and College Street. Workers who commenced from Santragachi clashed with police, with some even lobbing bricks at officials. In return, police officials have deployed water cannons.
Speaking at a press conference, TMC's state General Secretary, Kunal Ghosh, said: "BJP doesn't have a strategy. They do not have workers. The crowd you see is of police and media. Why didnt Suvendu Adhikari sit on a dharna where he was stopped?"
The West Bengal police action against BJP workers trying to reach Kolkata for Nabanna Abhiyan (march to secretariat), one of the party’s biggest campaigns since its 2021 poll defeat, continued on Tuesday morning, with thousands of party workers arrested or detained in several districts. Several BJP leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee, Taapshi Mondol and Dibankar Gharami were detained.
Blaming the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government for the police crackdown on BJP leaders, who have embaked on the Nabanna Abhiyan (march to secretariat), Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said: "CM Mamata doesn't have the support of her people and so she is enforcing dictatorship, similar to North Korea in Bengal...Police will have to pay for what it's been doing since y'day, BJP is coming." (ANI)
BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, “Mamata Police is on a war footing, trying to crush a democratic political event. The barricade of steel raised at Santragachi symbolizes her anxiety & timidity. Remember this @MamataOfficial, no wall can stand up to the ‘wave of democracy’, it would be breached sooner than later,” the former Trinamool leader tweeted.
Police deployed at Kolkata and Howrah diverted traffic from many central Kolkata roads from early morning. The Howrah bridge, the Second Hoogly bridge and Esplanade were barricaded to prevent the BJP worker’s movement.