23 May, 2017
Summary: Left workers led by farmers union clashed with police personnel outside the West Bengal Secretariat in Kolkata.
The march to the secretariat in Howrah district was organised by the Left parties to protest against what they called attack on democracy, and unemployment and lawlessness in the state during Trinamool Congress rule. Police fired tear gas shells and used batons after the Left workers allegedly tried to break barricades at several places and attacked the security personnel.
Police resorted to Lathi charge and tear gas to disperse the crowd that was gathering outside the state secretariat where section 144 has been imposed.
The police used water cannons to disperse the violent rallyists at Santragachhi.
At least 11 farmers" wings of the Left Front in the state are scheduled to hold the "march to Nabanna' rally tomorrow to protest anti-farmer measures. "If the police did not throw stones at our activists, they would not have been injured".
The injured included former state minister and CPI-M leader Kanti Biswas and Revolutionary Socialist Party veteran Subhas Naskar. "We will identify and take action against those responsible", Joint Commissioner of City Police (Headquarters) Supratim Sarkar told media persons. "We will look into it and investigate".
The Left leaders headed for "Nabanna" from the assembly in three cars and managed to cross the security cordons. The police and protesters had then clashed at Dufferin Road and Turf View Road in Kolkata and Mandirtala in Howrah.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Birbhum, reportedly expressed her displeasure over the Left MLAs' attempt.
Mishra said, "Everything is being done according to the chief minister's instruction". Police also lathicharged mediapersons as they protested the assault on reporters and cameramen, during the agitation.
Terming the police as "hooligans in uniform", Salim claimed the Mamata government has turned Bengal into a police state where people's right to have a dialogue or protest has been curbed.
Sympathising with the injured journalists, Communist Party of India-Marxist state Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said it only showed "the panic in the state government". "Drama and hooliganism are their only weapons", said Trinamool Congress secretary general and education minister Partha Chatterjee.
