BJP's 12-hour shutdown partially affects life in West Bengal
Kolkata (PTI): Daily life was partially affected in West Bengal on Wednesday due to a 12-hour shutdown called by the BJP, protesting the police action against demonstrators during a march to the state secretariat.
Rail and road blockades at several places in the state since the early morning affected public transport services, inconveniencing people.
In state capital Kolkata, the usual weekday flurry was missing with a lesser number of buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis plying. Private vehicles were also significantly less, even as markets and shops remained open as usual.
Schools and colleges were open, though the number of students was lesser. In many private offices, attendance was low with employees asked to work from home. However, attendance was as usual in government offices.
BJP workers demonstrated at several places in the city, including Sealdah, Shyambazar, Burrabazar and Wipro More in the IT hub of Sector 5, and police were swift in removing them to clear the roads for traffic.
An official of the Eastern Railway said bandh supporters blocked tracks at 49 places under its jurisdiction in the state.
While the blockades were lifted at most places, it was continuing in nine stations, mostly in the Sealdah South section, he said.
BJP workers demonstrated at the Bongaon station in North 24 Parganas, Gocharan station in South 24 Parganas, and the Murshidabad station in support of the bandh. Tension was palpable at the Barrackpore station in North 24 Parganas as BJP supporters and TMC workers came face to face.
Picketing by BJP supporters on the roads led to disruption of public transport services for some time in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Siliguri and Malda in northern West Bengal, and in Purulia, Bankura and some other places in the southern part of the state.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari led a protest march in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur, his home district.
In Malda, activists of the TMC and BJP engaged in a brawl over the blocking of a road. Police intervened to disperse the two groups.
In Alipurduar, BJP activists engaged in a scuffle with the police as they tried to block an arterial road, shouting slogans such as 'dafa ek dabi ek, mukhyomantrir padatyag' (one-point demand, chief minister's resignation).
The 'Bangla Bandh', which began at 6 am, was called by the BJP in protest against police action on participants of 'Nabanna Abhijan' on Tuesday.
The march to state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah was organised by the newly-formed students' group Chatra Samaj, demanding the resignation of CM Mamata Banerjee over the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital
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Ban on outsiders' entry extended in Sambhal, SP MPs barred from entering
Lucknow/Sambhal (UP) (PTI): Three Samajwadi Party parliamentarians, including its Sambhal MP, were stopped from entering the violence-hit district, as the administration on Saturday extended the ban on the entry of outsiders into Sambhal to December 10 to maintain "peace and order".
The administration's earlier ban on the entry of outsiders was to expire on Saturday.
The Samajwadi Party's Muzaffarnagar MP Harendra Malik, accompanied by its Kairana and Sambhal MPs, was stopped from entering Sambhal from Ghaziabad.
"I don't understand why we are being stopped. Are the opposition leader and the MPs so irresponsible that they can't be allowed to move within the state?" Malik said.
The party had earlier announced a 15-member delegation would visit the district to gather information about the violence that broke out over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.
Curbs under Section 163 (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, set to expire on Sunday, were extended to December 31.
In a statement issued in Sambhal, District Magistrate Rajendra Pensiya said, "To maintain peace and order, the imposition of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita in the district has been extended to December 31."
"No outsider, any social organisation or public representative can enter into the borders of the district without seeking the permission of the competent authority till December 10," he added.
Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.
Violence erupted during a second survey on November 24 as protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and several others were injured in the clashes. The police have denied allegations that it fired at the protesters.
The Supreme Court has since ordered the Sambhal trial court to halt proceedings in the case and its survey.
Pensiya further said, "If anyone tries to spread rumours on any group on social media, the group admin will delete the post and immediately inform the police. Cyber cafes will keep a register to enter the names of visitors. No person in Sambhal will burn effigies at public places."
Malik, who was stopped from entering Sambhal, further said, "Our delegation also included MPs Zia-ur-Rehman Barq (Sambhal) and Iqra Hasan (Kairana). What can we do? The government is acting in an autocratic manner."
Sambhal MP Barq has been booked in connection with the November 24 violence for "provocative acts".
In Moradabad, Samajwadi Party MP Ruchi Veera's residence was surrounded by cops to prevent her from travelling to Sambhal.
Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey, who was to lead the delegation, told reporters outside his Lucknow residence that Home Secretary Sanjay Prasad called him and requested him to not visit Sambhal.
Pandey is sitting on a dharna in Lucknow.
"The Sambhal district magistrate also called and told me that the ban on the entry of outsiders had been extended. I will now visit the party office and discuss the issue before deciding on our next action," he said.
"The government perhaps wanted to prevent me in order to hide its wrongdoings in Sambhal as our visit would have exposed its mistakes," he added.
Heavy security has been deployed outside Pandey's residence since Friday.
The Samajwadi Party had postponed an earlier visit after assurances from the director general of police about a fair investigation into the violence.
Congress state chief Ajay Rai earlier told PTI that a party delegation would visit Sambhal on December 2.
