Clashes erupted between supporters of the Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party at Sakherbazar in West Bengal’s Kolkata on Sunday evening.
The clashes, on the on the southwestern outskirts of Kolkata, were triggered over the alleged use of microphones by a local club on very high volume, PTI news agency reported.
Visuals following the clashes, posted by ANI news agency, showed smoke emerging from the a makeshift stage set up for a public rally, and broken chairs on the street.
The stage, which was allegedly set on fire, was the same from where former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb had addressed a public meeting in the afternoon.
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One fire tender was rushed to the spot of the incident to bring the blaze under control, PTI quoted an official as saying.
TMC-BJP trade allegations after incident
Union minister of state for education and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar condemned the incident, while alleging that this was an example of the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal.
“Today, in the Behala West Assembly constituency area of South Kolkata, the miscreants of Trinamool launched a barbaric attack on the meeting of the Honorable Election Co-in-Charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party West Bengal and former Chief Minister of Tripura @BjpBiplab. Along with extensive vandalism at the meeting venue and stage, a brutal incident occurred where they even set fire to the stage,” Majumdar said in a post on X. He further said that “TMC’s “atrocities have crossed all limits.”
“Under Mamata Banerjee’s government, West Bengal has effectively descended into…lawlessness, the consequences of which are becoming evident every day across the entire state,” the union minister of state said.
Meanwhile, TMC MLA from Behala Purba constituency, Ratna Chatterjee, claimed that some supporters of the BJP had accosted members of the club during a badminton tournament, according to PTI.