West Bengal BJP’s ‘March to Nabanna’ or the state secretariat took a violent turn on Thursday after saffron workers reportedly hurled bombs and bricks at the policemen in Kolkata and Howrah district.
The police, in return, resorted to water cannons and fired tear gas shells, besides cane-charging the workers. Several BJP cadre were injured in the clash.
Leaders like Arjun Singh, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Locket Chatterjee and Mukul Roy were among those present during the march.
With a seven-point charter of demands, including the deterioration of law and order situation, the youth wing of the party had organised a march from four areas. Newly-appointed youth wing president Tejasvi Surya also joined the protest at Howrah Maidan.
Citing the pandemic, the West Bengal government had denied permission for any major gathering and only granted permission for peaceful and democratic rallies within “permissible parameters” of only 100 people.
The government also announced that Nabanna will be shut for two days from October 8 “for sanitisation purpose”.