Clashes erupted between supporters of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district following public gatherings led by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik and state minister Udayan Guha, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday.
According to ANI, the police had to use a lathi charge to control the situation. The incident left a sub-divisional police officer injured. In response to the incident, the TMC declared a 24-hour bandh in Dinhata today.
According to the report, the clashes occurred in the Dinhata Bazar area around 8:30 pm on Tuesday, immediately after Pramanik, the BJP MP, concluded his public address. Meanwhile, a rally led by state minister Udayan Guha was set to commence nearby.
Pramanik alleged that as his convoy departed the venue, stones were hurled from the location of the TMC's rally towards them, as reported by PTI.
"I was leaving the area after the programme was over, and all of a sudden TMC supporters started hurling stones at us. So I had to get down to protest against this undemocratic and violent behaviour of the TMC workers," Pramanik stated in an interview with a Bengali news channel, as cited by Indian Express.
Accusing Guha, the North Bengal Development Minister, of instigating violence, Pramanik claimed that BJP activists were targeted and urged the police to arrest them.
In response, Guha refuted the allegations, labeling them as "baseless" and asserting that BJP supporters initiated the violence by pelting stones at the TMC's rally venue.
"People from Nisith Pramanik’s convoy hurled stones at us and were also shooting arrows targeting us. Some of our workers were injured. The Union minister himself was provoking his supporters to attack us," Guha countered, as reported by Indian Express.
He further alleged that the BJP aimed to impede the TMC's campaign efforts in the area.
Amidst the chaos, police intervention led to injuries on both sides, including law enforcement personnel.
In response to the incident, the Raj Bhavan issued a statement confirming that Governor CV Ananda Bose has requested a report from the state police chief to ascertain the details of the altercation between Pramanik and Guha.
"The Governor has also sent a list of habitual offenders received through the 'lok sabha' portal for appropriate preventive action to restrain them from blocking free and fair elections," the statement said.