Bengal govt, police say march called by students tomorrow is illegal

Kolkata:  West Bengal Minister of State for Finance, Health and Family Welfare Chandrima Bhattacharya on Monday said the proposed ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ or march to the state secretariat called by West Bengal Chhatra Samaj on Tuesday is “illegal and an attempt to incite widespread unrest in the city”.

The student body has given a call for the march as part of seeking justice for the alleged rape and murder of a lady medic of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, and demanding resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Bhattacharya said the proposed march to state secretariat at Howrah has not yet got police permission.

She said it was a ploy to disrupt life and incite the common people even after the case was handed over to the CBI from the Kolkata Police.

West Bengal Additional DGP (Law & Order) M K Verma told media that the proposed march is illegal and unlawful and an attempt to incite the common people for vested interests.

He said the Nabanna is a highly restricted zone and any meeting and procession near it is prohibited even though Section 163 Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, was in place since August 25.

He said police will be deployed to ensure the students coming for the National Testing Agency examination can reach their destination safely.

ADG of police, South Bengal, Supratim Sarkar said there were specific inputs they gathered that some elements might create law and order problems as he claimed there is no such West Bengal Chhatra Samaj organisation in the state.

Sarkar said the Police Commissionerate (Howrah) had appealed to the student body to give in writing details of the proposed “Nabanna Avijan” but there was no reply.

Ruling Trinamool Congress spokesman Kunal Ghosh claimed the march was called by the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parisgad, in association with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left to create law and order problem and subsequently call for Central government intervention.

He also claimed that some elements may take advantage of the gathering and might use arms to create chaos to disturb peace.

Union minister and Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said the BJP has not called Tuesdau’s protest march but it lends moral support to any democratic and peaceful movement against the oppression of the government.

He clarified that if any BJP worker wanted to join the procession without party flag, he or she was free to do so.

He also warned if the government wanted to use force or any undemocratic method to suppress the voice of the BJP then the party would give a separate callon any other day for Nabanna march.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya also denied the party’s involvement in the proposed march, and reiterated that if any party worker attends it, it would be in his/her individual capacity.

The ABVP also clarified that it did not initiate the call for the march but it supports any democratic movement for seeking justice for the murdered medic.