WB: Nadda forms five-member team to investigate Nabanna Chalo violence

By Payal Mehta
New Delhi [India], September 16 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda has formed a five-member committee to probe violence against their workers in West Bengal during the recent Nabanna Chalo march.
The team will be led by the former Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh and present Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal, former Information and Broadcasting Minister and Lok Sabha MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Lok Sabha member of Parliament Aparajita Sarangi, Rajya Sabha MP Sameer Umrao and former parliamentarian Sunil Jakhar.
According to the sources, these leaders have been asked to go and investigate the situation on the ground level. They will also investigate what led to the violence in Kolkata. The committee will also demand the state government to take action against the accused. They will submit the report to the party's national president.
On Tuesday, the BJP carried out a massive protest march, 'Nabanna Abhijan', to the state secretariat where a clash broke out between BJP workers and police inside the Bolpur railway station as police tried to stop the workers from leaving for Kolkata to participate in the Nabanna Chalo march. Several workers were also detained.
"With hundreds of BJP workers heading towards Kolkata to join BJP's Nabanna march via trains, police barricaded paths to railway stations. 20 of our workers were stopped by police near Durgapur railway station. I reached here using other paths," said BJP leader Abhijit Dutta.
Kolkata Police also detained Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and MP Locket Chatterjee ahead of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) protest march to state secretariat 'Nabanna' on Tuesday.
The violence has erupted into a political row.
Accusing the BJP of indulging in violence during protests against her government West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said action would be taken against those creating nuisance.
"People were harassed and public properties vandalised and destroyed. You can't have goons and bombs brought in, in the name of protests. Remember, police and fringe elements cannot go together. No anti-social activity will get any cover under the garb of politics, the police will take action if that happens," Banerjee said.
Banerjee also claimed that BJP had brought workers from other states for the protests. She also defended the police action against the protestors.
"The police officers could have fired in the air, but they were very measured in their response. This cannot happen, you cannot book trains and bring people from other states to create a nuisance in Bengal," she said while adding that she was not against democratic protests.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said that he would have shot the protesters in the head, had he been present at the site.
Reacting to the Diamond Harbour MP's statement, BJP leader Amit Malaviya said, "This murderous thug is more than just Mamata Banerjee's nephew. He holds unconstitutional sway over her Government. If she has the guts, let the brutal sentiment of fascism, latent in his statement, reflect in the lethal action of the WB Police. She would not survive the wrath of the people after."
Following the matter, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday sought a report from the West Bengal Home Secretary over the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Nabanna Abhijan' by September 19.
The High Court further directed the Police not to illegally detain any person and also ensure that there is no damage to public property.
BJP leaders were detained from Hastings in Kolkata when they were leading the Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan. Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee and BJP leader Rahul Sinha were taken to Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.