Violence erupted in the Tollygunge area of Kolkata over a proposed rally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The rally was initially set to start from Bansdroni and end at Tollygunge tram depot, but police didn’t give the necessary permission for it. The rally was supposed to start from 1 pm but police started blocking the roads from 11 am, BJP workers said.
The BJP workers and supporters then changed the route on an urgent basis which was decided as Tollygunge Phaari to Hazra crossing. But, the police were on the alert and did not allow the rally to start.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was picked up by police as soon as he reached the spot. A scuffle soon followed between police and the central security force in charge of Vijayvargiya’s security as the police tried to put him inside the van to be taken away from the spot.
A number of BJP workers were arrested from the rally as well. Mukul Roy too was picked up from the spot. BJP workers protested as the police tried to take them to the police vans.
Traffic came to a standstill as clashes between the BJP workers and police continued. Many pedestrians got stuck in the chaos.
Vijayvargiya accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee to be following discriminatory policy when it came to rallies and protests. He said she allowed all political parties to conduct rallies anywhere in the state except BJP.
[Image: representational, shows earlier BJP protest rally in Central Avenue]
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