TMC, BJP workers clash in Kolkata ahead of PM rally; stones thrown at minister Shashi Panja's house
Kolkata (PTI): Clashes broke out between TMC and BJP supporters in central Kolkata on Saturday, barely half an hour before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, leaving a police officer and a leader of the saffron party injured, officials said.
Allegations also surfaced that stones were thrown at the residence of West Bengal minister Shashi Panja in the Girish Park area.
The violence took place around 5 km from the rally venue as BJP supporters were marching towards the Brigade Parade Ground to attend the prime minister’s meeting, which marks the culmination of the party’s statewide ‘Parivartan Yatra’ ahead of the Assembly elections.
According to eyewitnesses, supporters of both parties allegedly threw stones at each other and raised slogans, triggering tension in the busy locality.
The officer-in-charge of Bowbazar police station, Bappaditya Naskar, was injured while trying to control the situation, police sources said.
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The BJP also claimed that its north Kolkata district president, Tamaghno Ghosh, and several party workers were injured in the clashes.
Ghosh was later taken to a hospital for treatment, party leaders said.
BJP leaders alleged that their supporters were attacked without provocation while heading towards the rally venue.
"Stones were thrown at us without any provocation. Abuses were also hurled at us," a BJP activist told a Bengali news channel.
The party further alleged that several vehicles, including buses carrying supporters to the rally, were damaged in the clashes.
However, TMC workers denied the allegations and claimed that BJP supporters first attacked Panja's residence while passing through the Girish Park area on their way to the Brigade rally.
Panja claimed that BJP supporters had targeted her residence and damaged window panes.
"BJP goons carried out the attack. Buses heading to the Brigade rally were carrying bricks, glass bottles and bombs. They attacked my house on Girish Park main road," the minister alleged.
She claimed that trouble began after saffron party supporters tore down posters reading "Boycott BJP" put up in the area.
According to Panja, when TMC workers attempted to put up the posters again, BJP supporters got down from buses and allegedly assaulted them, following which stones were thrown towards her house and window panes were damaged.
Rejecting the allegations, BJP leaders claimed that TMC activists pelted stones at their rallyists and buses when they were passing through the area.
Some BJP leaders also alleged that the police initially remained "inactive" as the situation escalated.
Police later rushed a large contingent to the spot and brought the situation under control, dispersing the clashing groups.
As tension escalated in the locality, many shopkeepers hurriedly downed their shutters.
The clashes occurred shortly before Modi's rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, where the prime minister is scheduled to address a massive gathering and unveil development projects worth around Rs 18,680 crore.
The rally marks the culmination of the BJP's month-long 'Parivartan Yatra', which the party launched across West Bengal to mobilise support and sharpen its campaign against the ruling TMC ahead of the Assembly elections.
Political observers said the clashes underscore the intense political polarisation in the state as both the BJP and the TMC seek to consolidate their support base in the run-up to the polls.
The BJP, which had emerged as the principal challenger to the TMC in the 2021 Assembly elections, has been attempting to revive its organisational momentum in the state through mass mobilisation campaigns and high-profile rallies by central leaders.
The ruling TMC, on the other hand, has been seeking to project the BJP's political campaigns as attempts to import "outsider politics" and disrupt peace in the state.
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Trump rushed out of dinner event after shots fired; one arrested
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump and other top White House officials were evacuated unharmed from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after a man armed with multiple weapons fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
The incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents' Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
Several guests at the dinner, including leaders across the political spectrum, journalists and other invitees, ducked under the table, apparently as a reflex reaction.
Putting up a brave face, President Trump later announced on Truth Social that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I've heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He (the attacker) hadn't reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Several protestors had lined up on the road outside the hotel, raising slogans against the Trump administration and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
A CNN reporter who was outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton said he saw a gunman opening fire just a few feet away. He was among the dozens of attendees who took cover as law enforcement swarmed the venue.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from California.
Asked how Saturday’s incident impacts him as the US president, Trump told reporters he is in a dangerous job but that he is no “basket case.”
“I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled,” Trump said.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts over the past two years – first at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
“I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives...everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd,” he said.
“We had some great work done by law enforcement, but in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
