Guv terms Govt’s ad against NRC, CAA unconstitutional

Post passage of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), violence continued unabated and spread to other parts of Bengal on an incremental basis with protester going on a rampage. Things threatened to lapse into a bigger turmoil as BJP leadership warned retaliation if the State Police continued to sit silent spectator allowing public properties to be looted and destroyed.

Violent protests that were largely limited to Murshidabad, Howrah and North and South 24 Parganas on Saturday on Sunday spread to Malda, North Dinajpur and outer fringes of Kolkata leading the State administration to partially shut down the internet network.

As people, including daily commuters suffered from road and rail blockades and cancellation of trains, fresh conflict war of words erupted between the State Government and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who denounced a televised publicity clipping of the State Government — in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is appealing for peace as a quid pro quo for her blocking the implementation of the new Act at any cost — as unconstitutional.

Parts of Bengal sizzled and simmered as rural mobs in Malda, Murshidabad, outer Kolkata and Birbhum took to streets attacking and vandalising public properties. At Bhaluka Road Railway station in Malda district bordering Bangladesh miscreants ransacked the station premises forcing the railway staff on duty to flee the area, police said.

Similar protests were witnessed at Tildanga station at Farakka where locals torched the station offices.

Even as a helpless police force stood a mute spectator in absence of specific orders from above local MLA Moinul Haq accompanied by his followers was seen chasing away the mob with stick in his hand.

Violence continued at Rezinagar police station in neighbouring Murshidabad district where the protesters vandalised the station premises, put the signaling office afire. A Railway Protection Force vehicle and a local BJP office was also torched, sources said.

Similar incidents were reported from Kalyani Expressway in Nadia district, Amdanga in North 24 Parganas where copies of the CAA were burnt by angry protesters. Parts of Howrah district like Uluberia and Domjur where 15 buses were torched on Saturday were however comparatively peaceful on Sunday.

At Burdwan and Birbhum, agitators took out rallies and shouting slogans against the Narendra Modi Government and throwing burning tyres on the roads.

At Bhyabla in Basirhat sub-division of North 24 Parganas the Congress workers protested by blocking the Kolkata-Basirhat highway resulting in disruption of services. Police contingents have been rushed to the troubled areas to control the situation, sources said.

Near Kolkata, agitators ransacked the Akra railway station in the southern fringes of Kolkata. They burnt tyres, and blocked train services prompting the Government to send large contingent of police force in the area. This affected Kolkata-Budge Budge railway link. The train services remained hit for several hours in the region.

Train services were partially disrupted in the Kolkata-Baruipur suburban region too when protester stoned running suburban trains at Mullickpur.

By late in the noon, the State Government had snapped internet services in six districts, including Murshidabad, Malda, Karandighi in North Dinajpur, parts of Howrah, Basirhat sub-division in North 24 Parganas and Baruipur, Diamond Harbour and others areas in South 24 Parganas.

Meanwhile, fresh war of words erupted between Governor Dhankhar and State Government with the former terming unconstitutional a State-run advertisement in which the Chief Minister is seen appealing to the people for calm as she would not allow the CAA to be implemented in the State.

Telling “those on constitutional posts” that this was “no occasion to play politics,” the Governor wondered “How can an elected head of a Government use public money to give advertisement in national media that there will be no NRC, no CAB in state?” before concluding “This advertisement is unconstitutional.”

He added as Constitutional head “I had very gracefully invited her (Chief Minister’s) attention, I had urged her (to) withdraw it. I am sure you all will agree that public money can’t be used to lead an agitation against law of the land.”

In the advertisement the Chief Minister is seen holding meeting with top Government functionaries including police chief and senior secretaries whereafter she appeals to the people to “maintain peace as we all want to protest against this Act but in a peaceful manner.”

She added, “We will not allow CAA and NRC to take place in Bengal” though now there is a central Act in place. “Remember the Central Acts have to be implemented through the State Government and we will not implement it. We will not allow NRC in Bengal. We will protest jointly but in a peaceful manner. We will protest irrespective of caste, creed, religion.”

Describing the law and order situation of the State as unimaginable Dhankhar questioned the way how public property was being damaged in a wanton manner, ruthlessly and recklessly, and how fear has been put in the minds of people belonging to a certain section of the society.

The Governor who has been at loggerheads with the Mamata Banerjee Government for quite some time now immediately received a counter attack from the State Ministers who asked him not to give advices to the Chief Ministers. State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the Chief Minister was an elected person and had people’s mandate with her and she was a senior politician who knew her brief better than anyone else. “She can teach others about constitutional ways and she does not have to take lessons from others,” the Minister said.

In a relevant development, things threatened to lapse into a bigger crisis with the State BJP vowing to “retaliate” if the Government did not take immediate action and if the police continued to remain silent spectator to people’s properties being destroyed.

“We have been watching how the Government and its police are sitting silent spectators to incidents of public and private properties being looted, ransacked and destroyed like this. We have been keeping silent but if things continue like this we will have to intervene,” State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said adding “if due to that law and order issues erupts the responsibility will not lie on us.”

Ghosh and State party secretary Sayantan Basu had earlier demanded immediate imposition of President’s Rule in Bengal.