The BJP staged a dharna outside the Raj Bhavan on Sunday to protest the post-poll violence incidents in the state after obtaining the permission of the Calcutta High Court earlier this month. In accordance with the court order, a total of 300 BJP workers, including those allegedly affected by post-poll violence, were present at the protest site.
West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari led the protest. Other party leaders, such as former Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, ex-MP Arjun Singh, along with Agnimitra Paul, Tapas Roy, Rudranil Ghosh, Kaustab Bagchi, and Asim Sarkar were also in attendance.
Since the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were announced, in which the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 29 out of the 42 seats in West Bengal, the BJP has alleged that its workers and cadres have been subjected to violence by hooligans under the patronage of the state’s ruling party.
The BJP had sought permission from the Kolkata Police to hold a dharna outside the Raj Bhavan. However, the police denied the request, citing Section 144, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people in an area.
The BJP, under the leadership of Adhikari, took the matter to the high court where he argued that the police had not stopped TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee from demonstrating outside the Raj Bhavan for five days. The Nandigram MLA alleged that Banerjee’s dharna, which was in protest against the alleged withholding of West Bengal’s MGNREGA dues by the Centre, was in violation of Section 144.
Adhikari also mentioned that he was prohibited from holding the protest outside the Raj Bhavan due to his affiliation with the BJP. After several hearings, the BJP received permission from the high court to stage the dharna. The court restricted the crowd size to 300 people and set the protest hours from 10 am to 2 pm. The BJP called court’s verdict a “moral victory”.
BJP workers attend a dharna organised by the party outside the Raj Bhavan to protest against the post-poll violence in the state | Salil Bera
Last month, Adhikari, along with alleged victims of post-poll violence, was stopped from meeting West Bengal Governor C.V. Anand Bose by the Kolkata Police on the same grounds of Section 144. They moved a petition in the high court, praying that they be allowed to meet the governor.
Meanwhile, Governor Bose wrote to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking why the police had stopped Adhikari and others from meeting him despite the Raj Bhavan’s permission.
Eventually, the high court allowed Adhikari and the alleged victims to meet the governor with certain conditions. He was asked to make a fresh application with the governor’s secretariat for meeting him. On June 16, Adhikari and some of the alleged post-poll victims, whose names were verified, entered the Raj Bhavan and met Governor Bose.
