The BJP is going to observe 21 July as ‘democracy murder day’, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, announced from his protest stage near Raj Bhavan on Sunday. Under the leadership of party chairperson Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamul Congress has been organizing a martyr remembrance ceremony at Esplanade in the city on 21 July every year.
This year’s Martyrs’ Day will be the Trinamul Congress’ first major public meeting after its recent victory in 29 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. The BJP will observe the same day as ‘Democracy Murder Day’, Mr Adhikari, said from the protest stage in front of the Raj Bhavan on Sunday. Since the announcement of the Lok Sabha election results, the BJP has alleged that their workers have been attacked in post-election violence. Mr Adhikari is staging a sitin demonstration with the ‘oppressed’ in front of the Raj Bhavan over the issue after seeking legal recourse.
Ultimately, Calcutta High Court granted him permission to hold the demonstration under special conditions. Accordingly, today, Sunday, at around 10 a.m, Suvendu Adhikari began his sit-in. He was accompanied by Tapas Roy, and Kaustav Bagchi. Additionally, several party leaders like Rudranil Ghosh, Arjun Singh and Asim Sarkar participated in the demonstration.
As per the court’s directive, 300 party workers joined the sit-in. However, obtaining permission for the sit-in at this location required considerable effort from the opposition leader. Initially, Kolkata Police did not grant permission for the sit-in due to Section 144 being in effect in front of the Raj Bhavan. Challenging this decision, the opposition leader approached the Calcutta High Court. His argument was that Abhishek Banerjee had also staged a five-day sit-in in front of the Raj Bhavan last October without any obstruction from the police.
The BJP camp claimed that Suvendu was being denied permission solely because he is a BJP leader. Eventually, with the court’s permission, the sit-in commenced in front of the Raj Bhavan under the specified conditions. The sit-in by the BJP continued from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All BJP workers participating in the demonstration carried posters with negative messages about the democratic environment in West Bengal, along with pictures of the persecuted BJP workers. Meanwhile BJP national ITin charge and West Bengal coobserver Amit Malviya wrote complaints to the National Commission for Women, against alleged threats by civic volunteers to commit rape on a BJP worker at Bagda.