Nabanna Chalo march: BJP chief JP Nadda forms five-member team to probe violence

Image courtesy: ANI (file pic)

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda has formed a five-member committee, led by former Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh and present Rajya Sabha MP Brij Lal, former Information and Broadcasting minister and Lok Sabha MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Lok Sabha MP Aparajita Sarangi, Rajya Sabha MP Sameer Umrao and former parliamentarian Sunil Jakhar, to probe violence against the party workers in West Bengal during the recent Nabanna Chalo march. 

The probe committee members have been asked to investigate the situation on the ground level and probe what led to the violence in Kolkata. The panel, which will submit its report to the party`s national president, will also demand the state government take action against the accused, sources told ANI.

Notably, the BJP carried out a massive protest march, `Nabanna Abhijan`, to the state secretariat where a clash broke out between BJP workers and police inside the Bolpur railway station as police tried to stop the workers from leaving for Kolkata to participate in the Nabanna Chalo march on Tuesday. 

Kolkata Police detained several leaders including Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and MP Locket Chatterjee, ahead of the BJP's protest march to state secretariat `Nabanna` on Tuesday. BJP leaders were detained from Hastings in Kolkata when they were leading the Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan. Suvendu Adhikari, Locket Chatterjee and BJP leader Rahul Sinha were taken to Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.

The violence has erupted into a political row. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP of indulging in violence during protests against her government and said that action would be taken against those creating nuisance. 

Mamata Banerjee said, "People were harassed and public properties vandalised and destroyed. You can`t have goons and bombs brought in, in the name of protests. Remember, police and fringe elements cannot go together. No anti-social activity will get any cover under the garb of politics, the police will take action if that happens," claiming that BJP had brought workers from other states for the protests. 

Defending the police action against the protestors, Mamata said, "The police officers could have fired in the air, but they were very measured in their response. This cannot happen, you cannot book trains and bring people from other states to create a nuisance in Bengal," adding that she was not against democratic protests.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee reportedly said that he would have shot the protesters in the head, had he been present at the site. 

Reacting to Abhishek Banerjee's statement, BJP leader Amit Malaviya said, "This murderous thug is more than just Mamata Banerjee`s nephew. He holds unconstitutional sway over her government. If she has the guts, let the brutal sentiment of fascism, latent in his statement, reflect in the lethal action of the WB Police. She would not survive the wrath of the people after."

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday sought a report from the West Bengal Home Secretary over the BJP's `Nabanna Abhijan` by September 19, directing the Police not to illegally detain any person while ensuring that there is no damage to public property. 

(With ANI Inputs)