BJP leaders including Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee, Sukanta Majumdar were detained by the police.
Why was BJP protesting in West Bengal?
The BJP had organised a protest march to Nabanna, the state administrative building. The march was being conducted to oppose the alleged corruption of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, led by party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Here are the top points to this big story
-BJP had arranged seven trains, three from north Bengal and four from the south Bengal, for supporters to take part in the 'Nabanna Abhijan' that was scheduled to be held on 13 September.
-Buses carrying BJP workers to Kolkata were also stopped by the police in North 24 Parganas, according to party members. Supporters were also seen coming on boats to cross the Ganga river and reach Howrah to join the protest march.
-BJP agitators brought in by special trains, boats for a protest march to the Bengal secretariat turned violent following clashes with with security officials
-Kolkata Police had to fire water cannons, burst tear gas shells and lathi-charge at the protesters after the latter threw stone at them. Several visuals emerged of police using barricades to stop the protesters.
-Traffic at the Howrah Bridge was halted as the protest march disrupted normalcy int he Howrah district of West Bengal.
-BJP leaders, who took part in the rally, were detained by police along with their supporters from Hastings in Kolkata. BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, party leader Agnimitra Paul and hundreds of activists staged a sit-in at Howrah Maidan, after police stopped them from proceeding towards ‘Nabanna’ (state secretariat).
-Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari said that said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has "turned West Bengal into North Korea". "Chief Minister Mamata does not have the support of her people and so she is enforcing dictatorship, similar to North Korea, in Bengal. The police will have to pay for what it is doing. The BJP is coming," he said.
-A Kolkata Police vehicle was torched amid severe violence that erupted after following the clash between the cops and the protesters. It was reported that several protesters and police officials were injured in the melee. Protesters and cops were seen rushing to take shelter as stones were thrown and water canon was fired.
-Earlier in the day, a clash broke out between BJP workers and Police outside the Raniganj railway station as workers left for Kolkata to take part in the march. The police took many workers into preventive custody in Raniganj.
-Calcutta High Court sought report from West Bengal Home Secretary over today’s BJP Nabanna Abhijan. The HC has asked the report to be submitted on 19 September. The HC further directed the Police to not illegally detain any person and also ensure that there is no damage to public property.
