'BJP goons' damaged Vidyasagar's statue during Amit Shah roadshow, will submit video proof to EC: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday released a video to claim that "BJP goons" damaged the statue of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during violence in Kolkata and said it will submit them to the Election Commission.

TMC MP Derek OBrien with party leaders Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Manish Gupta (L) and Nadimul Haque (R) hold photos of polymath Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, whose statue was destroyed in violent clashes in Kolkata. PTI Photo

NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday released a video to claim that "BJP goons" damaged the statue of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during violence at Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata. At a press conference here, TMC leader Derek O'Brien showed two videos in which people were seen vandalizing public property. The TMC leader claimed he had 44 more such videos which he said can prove that "BJP goons" were involved in the violence in Kolkata. "The video not only clearly establishes what the BJP did, but proves that its chief Amit Shah is a liar," O'Brien said. "The streets of Kolkata tinged with shock and anger. What happened yesterday hurt Bengali pride," he said, adding the TMC will take the videos it has to the poll panel and is authenticating them on record. The party also showed a video and WhatsApp message asking people to come to Amit Shah's roadshow with rods and arms to fight the TMC and police. "We are trying to obtain and authenticate audio of slogans like 'Vidyasagar finished, where is the Josh' raised during the violence," O'Brien said. "BJP people indulged in the violence during Amit Shah's roadshow. A roadshow is just a roadshow, you are not supposed to paste posters on government buildings and other places." He also alleged that Central forces in West Bengal have started a whisper campaign asking people to vote for the BJP. "The Central forces are in league with the BJP in Bengal. They are in alliance with the BJP," he said. O'Brien said he along with a TMC delegation will meet the Election Commission and lodge a complaint regarding the violence, and also hand over the videos which he said were "authentic proof" against the BJP. Another TMC leader, Manish Gupta, accused the BJP of bringing "goons" and keeping them in hotels to indulge in violence. TMC behind violence in Kolkata, not BJP, says Amit Shah A violent clash broke out Tuesday evening between TMC student activists and BJP workers during Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, leading to arson and stone pelting, with the saffron party president blaming chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the "attack" his convoy. Shah escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the jamboree and had to be escorted to safety by the police, as BJP and TMC supporters fought pitched battles on the streets of Kolkata. Parts of the city plunged into a welter of violence as his convoy was attacked with stones by alleged TMC supporters from inside the hostel of Vidyasagar College, triggering a clash between supporters of the two parties. Furious BJP supporters retaliated and were seen exchanging blows with their TMC rivals outside the college entrance. "There was an attempt by TMC hooligans to attack me. Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal chief minister) tried to provoke violence. But I am safe," Shah told ABP News after roadshow on Tuesday. The BJP chief said while clashes erupted police remained a mute spectator. He said he was told by police that the permission for the roadshow ended near the college and that he will be taken to the ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda on Bidhan Sarani. "They (police) deviated from the planned route and took a way where there were traffic jams. I was not allowed to reach Swami Vivekananda's house to pay tributes and I am saddened by it," Shah claimed. Shah also accused TMC "goons" of vandalising the bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar inside a college, saying it was done to gain "sympathy" as the Mamata Banerjee-led party has realised its "reverse count" has begun. (With inputs from agencies)