BJP’s Bengal Rath Yatra diverted, workers fume
Within two days of its flag-off by BJP president J.P. Nadda from Nabadwip in Nadia, the first leg of the saffron party’s Rath Yatra, calling for ‘Parivartan’ in poll-bound West Bengal, was allegedly stopped by the police at Beldanga in Murshidabad on Monday morning.
The incident took place a day before Nadda, in his second visit to the state in a span of three days, is expected to flag off the second leg of Rath Yatra from Tarapith in Birbhum.
As the ongoing procession came to a halt on its way, angry BJP workers erupted in protest and squatted on the Beldanga Nowda state highway, putting up a road blockade for around three hours. They also shouted slogans against high handedness by the police.
Bengali TV actor Kaushik Roy, who participated in the rally, said, “Actually the ruling party is anguished by the spontaneous public welcome irrespective of cast, creed and religion to our event. So it is upto to stop our overwhelmed success.”
On Sunday afternoon Trinamul Congress workers from Mirzapur in Beldanga shouted slogans against the Rath Yatra, objecting its route in the area.
BJP (Murshidabad) president Gouri Shankar Ghosh said, “The Rath Yatra entered the district as the party rank and file made an overnight stay at Bharat Sebashram Sangha in Beldanga. But the police stopped it to bar its passage through the Nowda-Hariharpara police station area, though it was our scheduled route, in apprehension of a communal trouble. Our Rath Yatra remained peaceful however.”
Denying of stopping Rath Yatra, superintendent of police (Murshidabad) K. Sabari Rajkumar said, “Its route was diverted to National Highway 34 apprehending some trouble.”
Later the Rath Yatra reached Berhampore.