Trinamool supporters on rampage in Bengal
A day after finance minister Amit Mitra and chief minister Mamata Banerjee were heckled in Delhi, the outrage of the Trinamool Congress hit West Bengal like a hurricane.
A day after finance minister Amit Mitra and chief minister Mamata Banerjee were heckled in Delhi, the outrage of the Trinamool Congress hit West Bengal like a hurricane.
Roads and trains were blocked, protests held, colleges and CPM offices were attacked and clashes took place across the state on Wednesday.
The only significant police crackdown took place in Siliguri, where following a clash, senior CPM leaders Ashok Bhattacharya and Jibesh Sarkar were arrested along with around 30 CPM cadres.
“Numerous cadres have been injured across Bengal. More than 1,000 party offices have been ransacked since yesterday. In Cooch Behar alone, 105 party offices were ransacked,” said Left Front chief Biman Bose.
Hundreds of government employees held a protest rally in Kolkata. Clashes were reported from various parts of the city. Outside the CPM headquarters in Alimuddin Street, a group of Trinamool supporters blocked the road for hours.
Reports of clashes came from West and East Midnapore districts and several parts of Bankura district as well. At the Kandi court in Murshidabad district, lawyers came to blows. A party office in Haldia was ransacked. An office of the SFI was ransacked in Burdwan University.
Agitations, blockades and attacks on CPM offices were reported from Cooch Behar and Birbhum districts as well.
“On the pretext of this incident (attack on Mitra), widespread violence has been unleashed against the CPM and the left parties in West Bengal,” said Politburo member Sitaram Yechury in Delhi. “The use of this as an excuse for such a largescale protest shows the real complexion of Trinamool,” added senior CPM leader Nilotpal Basu.
(With inputs from PTI)