Clash erupted between the Trinamul Congress and the BJP cadres within a day of BJP’s national president JP Nadda’s yesterday’s roadshow in Burdwan.
At several places in Burdwan- 2 block and certain wards within the Burdwan Municipality area, the BJP alleged: that the TMC supporters attacked their cadres on the plea that why they were present at to Nadda’s road-show.
BJP’s district Youth Morcha president Shubham Niyogi alleged: “They stormed into the houses of our cadres in Bam locality close to the town and some were threatened of dire consequences. Four of our cadres were forced to take part in a TMC road-show today.”
He alleged that the BJP party offices in wards – 9 & 16 were also ransacked. Two complaints have been registered with the Shaktigarh police station and Burdwan police station accordingly.
The TMC meanwhile claimed that the trouble broke out when the BJP cadres were trying to restrict one of the TMC vehicles campaigning for today’s road-show at Bam area.
Rasbehari Haldar, Youth TMC district president alleged: “They scuffled with our men and were abusing our leaders, which triggered off trouble there.”
Thousands of TMC supporters meanwhile joined at the road-show of party’s state youth front vice-president Sohom Chakraborty in the town this afternoon.
The state animal resource minister Swapan Debnath, Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati Shampa Dhara also joined the crowded road-show that ran from Town Hall to Golap Bagh-a stretch of 2 km in the town, which was arranged to counter Nadda’s yesterday’s road-show.
Meanwhile clashes also broke out between supporters of the TMC and the BJP at several locations, including in East and West Midnapore districts, leaving a few of them injured.
Maintaining that the TMC launched an attack on the activists of his party, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said such harassment would only help the saffron camp grow from strength to strength.
“With every attack on our party workers, more people would come out in our support,” Adhikari, who quit the Mamata Banerjee camp to join the BJP last month, told reporters during a roadshow in Purulia.
Workers of the two parties crossed swords at Bhajachauli in Kanthi area of East Midnapore district, sources in the two parties said.
Local BJP leaders alleged that a few of its workers sustained injuries in the attack, even as the TMC claimed that infighting in the saffron camp led to the clashes.
Violence was also reported from Marishda in East Midnapore district.
At Keshpur in West Midnapore, activists of the two parties allegedly fought each other with bricks and sticks.
Denying the BJP’s allegation, TMC East Midnapore district president Ajit Maity said that his party, in fact, had been “showing restraint in the face of provocation by saffron party supporters”.
~With inputs from PTI~