With tensions rising after the Khalistani’ slur on a Sikh police officer by BJP workers yesterday, protests and counter-allegations kept flying throughout Wednesday. A large group of the Sikh community members today staged demonstrations outside the BJP’s state party office in Muralidhar Sen Lane. They demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for the alleged ‘Khalistani’ remarks made against IPS officer Jaspreet Singh by Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.
The protest outside the BJP office also led to slogans against the saffron party, and ‘BJP Murdabad’ banners emerged, indicating growing dissatisfaction within the Sikh community. Sikh people from Gurdwara Muni Lal Sikh Sangat in Burrabazar took out a procession to the state party office of the BJP. Adding to the turmoil, Amit Malviya, BJP’s national spokesperson and IT cell in-charge and co-observer of Bengal unit, took to his Twitter handle, stating that TMC youth leader from South Kolkata was the mastermind behind the protest to divert the attention from the Sandeshkhali incident. The controversy, however, has not only engulfed Kolkata but has spread to various parts of the state, with anti-BJP demonstrations being organized.
Earlier, a video of a Sikh Indian Police Service (IPS) officer posted in West Bengal went viral on social media on Tuesday, when BJP’s Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari reportedly labelled him a ‘Khalistani’ during the saffron party’s protest against the Sandeshkhali incident. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress have joined in the anti-BJP chorus, further intensifying the political situation.