BJP observes 'Black Day', holds rallies against WB violence

The situation remained tense in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district following the clashes in Sandeshkhali on Saturday, which claimed three lives -- two from the BJP and one of the Trinamool Congress.

Basirhat/ Kolkata: The BJP took out rallies in Kolkata and elsewhere, and held a shutdown in Basirhat on Monday, as they observed a "Black Day" to protest against the killing of its workers and the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation in West Bengal. The situation remained tense in the Basirhat subdivision of North 24 Parganas district following the clashes in Sandeshkhali on Saturday, which claimed three lives -- two from the BJP and one of the Trinamool Congress. Both the parties claimed that some of their workers were still missing, though the administration denied any such claim. Shutters were down in most of the shops and establishments during the 12-hour shutdown in Basirhat, around 70 km from Kolkata. The Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) took out protest rallies in the subdivision and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. BJP workers disrupted the movement of vehicles and trains by squatting on roads and railways tracks at many places in Basirhat, which was won by the TMC's Nusrat Jahan in the Lok Sabha election. A large police contingent remained deployed in the area to avoid any untoward incident, officials said. The BJP's protest came a day after it was stopped by the police from bringing the bodies to Kolkata. Governor K N Tripathi called on the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi and briefed him about the current law-and-order situation. Till Sunday, bodies of at least three persons killed in the clashes in Sandeshkhali had been recovered, while several others remained missing. The BJP has claimed that five of its workers were killed, whereas the ruling TMC claimed that one was killed. The Ministry of Home Affairs had sent an advisory to the state government, expressing "deep concern" over the "unabated violence" in the state and asked it to maintain law and order. The Mamata Banerjee government responded to the Centre in a letter, claiming that the situation in the state was "under control" and there was no failure on part of its law enforcement agencies. Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De wrote that "firm and appropriate actions" were initiated in all the cases of violence without any delay.