Indian Secular Front (ISF) leader and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddiqui was heckled while he was delivering his speech on Saturday afternoon at the sit-in venue expressing solidarity with the agitators, organized by Joint Forum of State Government employees to hike Dearness Allowance (DA).

Naushad met the agitators, who were organizing the programme for the past 51 days. Some of them fell ill and had to be hospitalized owing to a 39 day-long fast-unto-death.

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The trouble started when an unknown person carrying a helmet in his left hand suddenly got into the dais and asked Naushad what the latter had done for developments of minorities as a MLA. The miscreant abruptly dashed the ISF leader on his left shoulder, prompting agitating employees to rush to the spot. They rescued the MLA, caught the stranger and handed him over to police.

Naushad who looked surprised with such an abrupt development, said, “The man came to me suddenly and wanted to know what I have done for the minorities. I told him it’s not an issue of minorities only. We always think of minority and non-majority angle. But he dashed me on my left shoulder. I think the man is an outsider and not anyone from the agitating government employees, who are fighting for the DA hike.”

“It’s a plan to break the organized democratic agitation of the government employees. Police should conduct proper inquiry to probe what was the plan of the person and why did he attack me? I want the DA movement to spread everywhere in districts,” he said.

The Calcutta High Court had granted bail to the Bhangar MLA on 3 March, who had been in a correctional home in connection with clashes that took place during his party rally at Esplanade in January.

Police have detained the person for interrogation, later in the day. According to a preliminary inquiry by police, Sk Abdul Salam, an elected Trinamul gram panchayat member of Bankra-II village in adjoining Howrah district, suddenly reached the spot and heckled the MLA.

“We don’t support this type of physical attack on somebody. It’s not healthy politics. It’s also true that the dharna mancha has turned into a stage for drama,” said Trinamul Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh.