Sporadic violence marked Wednesday’s general strike sponsored by left parties, that threw normal life out of gear in many areas. Apart from the violence the strike evoked a mixed response in the sense that the Government sector remained mostly open.
State Government offices where the staff stayed back overnight on Tuesday, in response to a circular threatening breakage in service, recorded about 80 per cent attendance. However, markets, schools and colleges remained closed.
While Government vehicles plied, private transport was mostly off the roads, sources said. Metro Railway functioned normally while trains in the South-East and Eastern Railways ran late.
While life was affected in tea, jute and coal sectors its impact was minimal in Haldia and Durgapur industrial belts, sources said.
However, left and ruling Trinamool Congress workers clashed in many areas leaving scores injured, some of them grievously. Fromer Murshidabad MP Mainul Hasan, sitting Muhammad Bazar MlA Biren Bagdi and his counterpart from Hariharpara constituency Insar Ali were among the injured, police said.
Most of the clashes were reported when alleged Trinamool men armed with batons, swords, bombs and brickbats attacked Opposition rallies in parts of Murshidabad, Birbhum, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan etc, sources said.
The scene at Behrampore was the bloodiest where a former CPI(M) MP was severely beaten up first by the Trinamool men and then by the police which baton-charged a left procession. At Hariharpara also in Murshidabad district CPI(M) MlA Insar Ali received grievous injuries after allegedly being attacked by Trinamool men.
Trinamool leadership however denied the attack as district party president Mannan Hussein alleged the clash was the result of an earlier attack by the CPI(M).
In North Bengal Siliguri Mayor and former Minister Asok Bhattacharya was arrested along with 50 supporters, sources said. In most cases police remained silent spectator to the mayhem. Curiously, workers of the Congress Party which had also supported the bandh mostly remained indoors.
Bombs were hurled by Trinamool Congress’ motorbike-borne supporters at Domkal in Murshidabad, Basirhat in North 24 Parganas and Sainthia in Birbhum district sources said.
"No Trinamool worker was arrested from any place while about 300 workers on strike were picked up from many areas across the State," Biman Bose CPI(M) Politburo member said, adding Wednesday’s violence was a "rehearsal of what the Trinamool is going to do in next year’s Assembly elections."
His party colleague Shyamal Chakrabarty said the "people are gradually getting ready for the bigger fight and will give a befitting reply to the Trinamool goons in days to come."
CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said, "The attack was the result of the huge success of the strike. The more the people responded to our appeal more they got nervous and pressed in their goonda brigade to attack our workers."