The protest rally by TMC’s Mamata faction on Tuesday
The protest was originally scheduled as a march from Rajabazar to Park Circus at 2 pm. However, over 100 personnel from Kolkata Police and central forces set up barricades around the gathering point, preventing the procession from moving forward. At Lalbazar, hours before the march was scheduled to begin, Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nanda said no official application for the march had been submitted to police, and therefore such an event cannot be held without permission.
Ghosh lashed out at BJP and accused the state administration of “throttling” a peaceful political movement as the protesters stood their ground at the blockade site chanting slogans like “vote chor, gaddi chhor”. We will approach Supreme Court,” Mamata said. No disorder will be allowed during Durga Puja ,” he said.
Ghosh claimed the party’s youth and student wings had organised the demonstration and had notified the police via email well in advance. Despite this, police stopped our rally… This is unconstitutional, illegal and this was an attempt to curb our democratic rights. “I have instructed the CP not to allow even a single step forward from Rajabazar. I will tell the police to end it where it begins. If necessary, I have also asked for central forces to be deployed. The police administration cannot act on the basis of social media posts or posters, he added. The police commissioner further noted that during Durga Puja, the city faces added pressure in terms of security and traffic management.
Late on Monday, CM Suvendu Adhikari issued firm instructions to police to stop the procession.