Following demands for the Nabanna Abhiyan, a Tuesday march to Nabanna, the state headquarters in Howrah, by the Paschimbanga Chhatra Samaj, a recently founded student organisation, protests against the rape and death of a medic at Kolkata’s R G Kar hospital are expected to becoming more intense.
Although the student organisation has declared the event to be “apolitical,” parties in West Bengal have chosen sides in advance of it. The state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) asserted that the demonstration is “politically motivated” and “an attempt to incite widespread unrest,” despite the BJP’s backing for it. Despite the rape-murder case, the Left parties have disassociated themselves from the demonstration, branding it a “BJP-RSS” plot to divert attention from “the people’s movement.”
“Chhatra Samaj has called for this rally on social media, and they haven’t told the police about their preparations. Everyone wants the offender to get exemplary punishment and the victim to receive justice. Senior TMC lawmaker and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya stated on Monday that the CBI has been given the case and that the CM’s resignation demand is politically motivated. Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh also questioned the reasoning for the march to Nabanna rather than the CBI headquarters, where the investigation is being conducted.
Notably, the state police condemned the march, calling it “illegal” and “politically motivated,” and asserting that no group had requested authorisation to hold a demonstration. There are already prohibitions in place close to Nabanna that forbid gatherings of five or more people.
Additional Director General of Police (South Bengal), Supratim Sarkar, stated during a press conference on Monday that there were “concerns about possible disruptions” during the march and that a student leader involved in organising the protest met a well-known political figure at a five-star hotel in Kolkata on Sunday. The police stated they will approach the court after obtaining further information, but last week the Calcutta High Court authorised the march to Nabanna.
The BJP and its student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have denied any participation but are supporting the demonstration, despite the TMC and the Left criticising “right-wing” organisations.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly for the BJP, Suvendu Adhikari, charged that police were disseminating false information about the rally on social media and asserted that the administration led by Mamata Banerjee was employing deceitful methods to keep demonstrators from getting to Nabanna.
In the meanwhile, Tuesday will mark the first meeting of the National Task Force, which was established by the Supreme Court to develop a strategy for guaranteeing the protection of medical personnel.
