Bengal: BJP MP protests after cops bar her from joining Hanuman Jayanti event

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Locket Chatterjee sat on a protest at Bansberia in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Thursday after she was allegedly stopped by the police from attending a Hanuman Jayanti celebration.

“I am not going there as a political leader. I don’t have any flags. I will go there, offer puja and come back. They stopped me for nothing. This is entirely wrong,” Chatterjee told reporters on Thursday.

The BJP MP from Hooghly was seen reciting the Hanuman Chalisa while sitting on the road. The dharna went on for around an hour, police said.

Also Read: West Bengal: Roads, trains blockade by Kurmi community leaves thousands stranded

Meanwhile, a police officer allegedly told the protesting leader that she was stopped for being a political leader and an outsider.

“We have clear instructions that no outsiders or political leaders would be allowed. You may not be an outsider, but you are a political leader. From the administrative point of view and considering the law-and-order situation, I am requesting you not to go there. Please come on another day,” the officer reportedly told the Chatterjee.

To this, Chatterjee said, “I spoke with the Governor and narrated the incident. He was surprised to know that I am being branded as an outsider in my constituency. Neither the superintendent of police (SP) nor the district magistrate took calls.”

Senior police officers of the district refused to make comments.

The Calcutta high court on Wednesday barred political leaders or even common people from making any public statement related to the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations following the incidents of violence in Kolkata and Howrah during the Ram Navami celebrations.

“She may be an MP, but that doesn’t give her the right to do anything. The Calcutta high court gave orders on Wednesday,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, Trinamool Congress (TMC) state vice president, adding, “If she approaches the Governor, she would get a scolding. It is being repeatedly requested and urged to maintain peace and refrain from making provocative statements.”

West Bengal is celebrating Hanuman Jayanti amid strict vigil by the state police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). On the orders of the Calcutta high court, the state government has deployed three companies of central forces in Kolkata, Hooghly and Barrackpore to avert any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, Governor CV Ananda Bose made a surprise visit to inspect the law and order situation in parts of Kolkata on Hanuman Jayanti following violent communal clashes that broke out in Howrah, Hooghly and Uttar Dinajpur districts last week during the Ram Navami celebrations.

“It is the people who made me the Governor, so I have to be with the people. It is we, the people of India, who gave the Constitution. It is the Constitution which gave me the authority as Governor. Therefore, my duty is to the people. I should be with the people. I take delight in being with people. I am one among them,” said Bose after a visit to Ekbalpore, where communal clashes broke out in October 2022.

Also Read: Fresh communal violence in Bengal’s Hooghly, train services disrupted

On Tuesday, the Governor visited Rishra in Hooghly where riots took place the previous night.

Incidents of violence and arson were reported in Hooghly district on Sunday and Monday- two days after Howrah witnessed incidents of violence during Ram Navami celebrations.

Violence erupted in the Howrah district on March 30 after stones were allegedly thrown at a Ram Navami procession. The violence spread to North Dinajpur and Hooghly districts over the next three days and led to the arrests of at least 46 people.