PoliticsTrinamool Congress
Police stop Trinamool's march against the CEC in Kolkata after Adhikari order
Barricades and central forces held the Rajabazar to Park Circus march at its starting point. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said it would not be allowed to move a single step.
Key points
- Police and central forces stopped the Trinamool march at Rajabazar in north Kolkata on Tuesday.
- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said he had told police not to let it advance even a single step.
- Police said they had received no formal application for the rally; Trinamool says it emailed them.
Police and central forces stopped a Trinamool Congress march against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Kolkata on Tuesday, holding it at its starting point in Rajabazar after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said it would not be allowed to proceed.
The march, called by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool for 2 pm, was meant to go from Rajabazar in north Kolkata to Park Circus. It demanded Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and protested the police action against opposition leaders and protesters in Delhi, including Banerjee.
Police put up barricades across the road and a three-tier security cordon. The procession barely moved. Hundreds of party workers, led by MLA Kunal Ghosh, MP Dola Sen and MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, held their protest where they were stopped, chanting “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chor”.
‘Not a single step’
Adhikari, whose BJP government took office this year, had made his position clear on Monday night. “I have instructed the CP not to allow them to advance even a single step from Rajabazar,” he said. “I will not let them cross. I will not allow any chaos during Durga Puja.”
The city’s police commissioner said the force had not been told of the rally through proper channels. “We do not have any information regarding any rally or any official intimation,” he said. He said organisers must apply in advance and give details of the route and numbers. “The police operate within the framework of the law, so permissions must be obtained in advance,” he said.
The Trinamool says it did. Ghosh said the party’s student and youth wings had informed police by email beforehand, and that people trying to join were stopped across north and central Kolkata from the morning.
“We are speaking out against Gyanesh Kumar, and the BJP is feeling the pain in its heart,” Ghosh said. “Why is the BJP hurting? Because Gyanesh Kumar rigged and stole votes to give undue advantage to the BJP.”
He said the march had made its point anyway. “The objective of our movement is successful. They are afraid. Delhi is afraid, and the West Bengal government is afraid,” he said, calling the government’s approach “the politics of cowards”.
“Today, too, the situation is like a war zone,” Dola Sen said.
BJP: no permission, little support
Union minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said the Trinamool had little support left. “The party could proceed if it secured permission, but to my knowledge, approval had not been granted,” he said.
The Trinamool, tagging Adhikari on X, asked: “Why is Suvendu Adhikari so terrified?”
A party in opposition
The Trinamool is now in opposition in West Bengal, and a group of its MPs broke away in June. Banerjee joined Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders at Monday’s march in Delhi.
Banerjee has asked that elections be held on the old rolls until every eligible voter is included. “As long as their names are not included in the list, we think the election should be conducted using the old list,” she said on Monday.