A clash erupted between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kolkata Police on Friday amid the Opposition party's rallies and sit-ins across West Bengal demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in light of the recent rape and murder of the on-duty doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
On Friday, party workers were seen carrying posters and raising slogans against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government while describing the TMC-led state's condition as worse than failed democracies like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Today's protest in Shyambazar was attended by several BJP leaders, including MLA Agnimitra Paul and Rudranil Ghosh. BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar also reached the spot and staged a sit-in there.
The saffron party workers organised sit-in demonstrations in various parts of the state, including Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Dum Dum-Nagerbazar in North 24 Parganas, and other locations.
According to the protesters, the planned rally at Shyambazar Five Point Crossing in Kolkata was thwarted by police while a stage set up for the rally was dismantled, and several BJP workers were detained and taken to the central lock-up at Lalbazar police headquarters.
"By dismantling our stage, does the TMC think it can suppress people's outrage over this horrific incident? The situation in West Bengal is worse than failed democracies like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Banerjee should resign immediately for her failure to fulfill her duties," BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said.
Refuting BJP's allegation, TMC further accused the saffron camp of vitiating the atmosphere to derive political dividends. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh questioned whether CMs in BJP-ruled states have resigned for similar incidents.
"Did the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states resign when similar incidents took place? The answer is no. Whoever is involved in vandalism must be arrested regardless of party affiliations. The opposition is doing dirty politics over the incident," he said.
