Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday alleged that the police had obstructed them while they had hit the streets to observe ‘Paschim Banga Diwas’.
After visiting the residence of Jan Sangh founding member Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee at Bhawanipore in south Kolkata, the BJP state president and MoS Sukanta Majumdar along with BJP youth wing wanted to hold a rally and visit Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s residence at Elgin Road when the BJP alleged that the police had stopped them.
Later, a small team of BJP workers led by Dr Majumdar reached Bose’s residence on two-wheelers and garlanded the leader’s bust outside the house.
Notably, verbal slugfest over “Paschim Banga Diwas’ between BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is there for the last three years. While BJP claims that June 20 is the foundation day of West Bengal, the TMC believes that ‘Paschim Banga Diwas’ is on Bengali New Years Day (Poila Boishakh).
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “We failed to understand why police stopped us? We have told police that instead of the party flag, we will take the national flag but even then we are not allowed. It seems we are not in Bengal but Bangladesh.”
On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari along with other BJP MLAs from the state Assembly visited Red Road in central Kolkata to garland the statue of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
“On this day in 1947, the West Bengal Assembly under the leadership of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee passed a resolution to remain in India. This is the actual ‘Paschim Banga Diwas’,” said Adhikari.
Meanwhile, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh slammed BJP and said that the actual foundation day of West Bengal is on ‘Poila Boishakh’.
