Mamata meets Modi in Delhi; BJP turns Kolkata a protest zone

KOLKATA: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi on Thursday, Modi’s BJP members turned Kolkata into a vast protest zone.

The city’s business district turned into a virtual fortress as the police deployed water cannons and barricades to halt a BJP workers rally in protest against the ‘deteriorating’ law and order in the state.

The local leadership of the BJP demanded the arrest of former Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid, Maulana Nurur Rahman Barkati, who had issued a fatwa against Modi earlier. Senior leaders of the BJP, including national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, state president Dilip Ghosh, national secretary Rahul Sinha and BJP’s MP in Rajya Sabha, Rupa Ganguly were arrested during the protest.

For the first time, Kolkata Police used drones to monitor the movement of a political rally and the city constabulary appealed to the BJP leaders to not break the law. Some BJP workers, allegedly, threw bombs at the police, while a police vehicle was set ablaze. A state government bus was torched by the irate workers.

However, BJP leader Shamik Bhattacharya said bombs were hurled by the Trinamool workers.

Former MP and expelled leader of the Communist party, Lakshan Seth, was present at the rallies. Shouting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and chanting “jai shree Ram” slogan, the BJP leaders led the rallies that gathered at three points in central Calcutta.