Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee has issued a stern warning to the BJP, which governs West Bengal, accusing it of terror and of stirring up disorder. If they have the nerve to run bulldozers, she said, they will have to run them over her party’s bodies. She made the remarks on Saturday, blaming the BJP for clashes outside the south Kolkata home of the party’s all-India general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee.
Mamata alleged that the attack outside Abhishek’s house took place at around 2am in the night between Friday and Saturday, a few hours before Kali Puja and Diwali. She also claimed that the atmosphere for celebrating the local religious festival was disrupted.
Clashes broke out in two rounds outside Abhishek Banerjee’s house in the Kalighat area of south Kolkata from late on Friday night until early Saturday morning. At least eight people were reported injured.
Mamata also alleged that a Durga Puja pandal had been built illegally on the main road in the area, blocking the route of a long-standing traditional puja. She questioned the role of the authorities in allowing a new puja while obstructing the old one.
Speaking to the news agency ANI, Mamata said the area was theirs and that Ma Kali’s procession had passed along this route for a long time, so there was no need to create fresh disorder there. She alleged that permission for the long-standing traditional puja had been cancelled while a new puja was being allowed, and that local clubs had even been stopped from carrying out their activities the night before.
Mamata added that the BJP was angry with them because they are part of INDIA, the opposition alliance. She alleged that their programmes and religious events were being obstructed because of their political identity.
Venting her anger at the BJP, the Trinamool leader said extreme hooliganism was going on in the area, with people gathering late at night, at two or three o’clock, to create a situation for an attack. If they have the power to run bulldozers, she asked, why do they need to bring people in the dark of night to attack a Kali Puja? They are carrying out political activities there, she said, while their own are being deliberately obstructed.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report