The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is taking out its ‘Nabanna Chalo March’, a rally in protest against the corruption by the ruling TMC government in West Bengal, on Tuesday. The West Bengal police, however, has denied permission for the party’s ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ march to the State secretariat.
Leader of Opposition in Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee and party leader Rahul Sinha were detained and whisked away in a prison van. The leaders are taken to Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.
Water cannons were deployed against the protest march to the West Bengal state secretariat Nabanna. The traffic movement is also halted by police on Howrah Bridge in Kolkata.
They were stopped in front of police training school at the approach to the Second Hooghly Bridge near the secretariat.
Earlier, the buses carrying the saffron party workers, on way to Kolkata to participate in the march, was stopped by the police in North 24 Parganas. The police has also put up heavy barricading at Hastings near state government’s new Secretariat in the city ahead of the march.
The saffron party’s ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ against the Mamata Banerjee-led government’s alleged corrupt practises is led by senior party leaders, including state party president, Sukanta Majumdar, Leader of Opposition in WB assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Union Ministers- Subhas Sarkar and Shantanu Thakur, MP SS Ahluwalia, MLA Agnimitra Paul, and others.
While speaking to ANI about the march, BJP WB President Sukanta Majumdar said, “Why would the public take permission from thieves to hold demonstrations?… Police behaving like TMC cadres. We did the Nabanna Chalo march last time when section 144 was imposed, again we’ll do it. It’s our fight to save Bengal. Three of our leaders will organise the ‘Nabanna Chalo’ campaign from Howrah ground, College Square, and Santraganchi respectively.”
“TMC is trying to stop our rallies. We do not need permission from anyone especially CM Mamata Banerjee,” he further alleged.
“Preparation done. It’s not BJP’s protest, but the protest of all people of Bengal. Mamata Banerjee has to answer why her govt has cheated the people of Bengal,” said BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul.
BJP has also hired seven trains to bring its party members and supporters from different parts of the state to join ‘Nabanna Abhiyan’ on Tuesday.
