Clashes erupt as cops block BJP’s march in Kolkata

BJP leadership blamed Chief  Minister Mamata Banerjee for the violence and clashes that swept across Kolkata as the party held a protest march in violation of prohibitory orders banning large gatherings. Senior BJP leader and Union minster Ravi Shankar Prasad said despite Mamata Banerjee's concerns about democracy, her government did not follow its tenets."Does your state have the right to protest or not? Protestors are murdered. Because the ground under your feet is shifting, because the BJP got 18 seats in Lok Sabha," he said.BJP Chief JP Nada tweeted: "Mamata Banerjee's karyakartas and the Gov machinery led by her have unleashed brute force upon BJP karyakartas in an attempt to prevent them from holding protests against her tyrannical & bloodied misrule in West Bengal. Such misuse of power is totally unacceptable & condemnable."

The violence that started outside the state secretariat "Nabanna" had spiralled, engulfing several spots in the city that resembled battle zones.  BJP workers and supporters clashed with police, hurling stones and blocking roads with burning tyres, to protest a string of killings of saffron party workers.Thousands of BJP workers from Kolkata and Howrah began marching towards Nabanna to protest the "worsening" law and order in the state, on Thursday afternoon. The West Bengal Police, however, blocked the march and police personnel resorted to lathi-charge, used tear gas and water cannons on BJP workers at Santragachi in Howrah district.Several BJP leaders, including BJP state vice-president Raju Banerjee and MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, have reportedly been injured.