new delhi, Sept 1
Army personnel on Monday dismantled a protest stage erected by the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) at Esplanade near the Gandhi statue in Kolkata, triggering a political row in Bengal.
A protest was going to take place against the alleged disgrace to the Bengali language and the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers.
Army sources told United News of India that the structure was allegedly deconstructed because permission had been granted till August 31 to protest, and the deadline had expired.
“Indian army (Local military Authority, Kolkata) permits events in the Maidan area for a duration of two days, as directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. Permission for events greater than 3 days needs to be obtained from the MoD, Govt of India,” said a press statement by the Army.
“Permission for the conduct of events was provided for 2 days; however, the stage has been put up for almost a month, several reminders have been sent to the organisers for removal of the temporary structure; however, it was not removed. Thereafter, the Kolkata police were informed and the structure was being removed by the Indian Army,” the statement said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to the protest site soon after the incident and launched a sharp attack on the Centre and the BJP, alleging that the Army was being misused for political purposes.
“Nearly 200 Army personnel fled when they saw me. I asked them why they were running. We are proud of our Army, but it is being directed by the BJP and the central government to dismantle our stage. This has been done at the behest of Delhi and the Defence Minister. It is nothing but political vendetta,” Banerjee claimed, as per UNI.
She stressed that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had secured all required permissions for its weekend demonstrations. “There was no obstruction to traffic. Our programmes were held on Saturdays and Sundays with due approval. If there were any issues, the authorities could have spoken to the police commissioner. We would have ourselves removed or relocated the stage if needed,” she said.
Asserting her respect for the armed forces, Banerjee added, “I attend Army programmes regularly. But this move was clearly dictated by others. We know who is behind it.”
She added that the Army should have consulted Kolkata Police before dismantling TMC’s stage erected to protest ‘harassment’ of Bengal migrants, as per a news agency.
BJP’s vendetta politics behind Army’s move to dismantle TMC’s stage erected to protest ‘harassment’ of Bengal migrants, she further stated.
“Army’s move to dismantle TMC’s stage in Kolkata to protest ‘harassment’ of Bengal migrants is unethical, undemocratic,” the Chief Minister said.
The protest site had become a regular venue for TMC’s weekend agitations against alleged discrimination faced by Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states. The sudden removal of the stage has turned into a new flashpoint, with the Chief Minister accusing the Centre of trying to “silence Bengal’s voice.”
