oppn parties Violence In Kolkata Road Show: Whodunit?

News Snippets

  • Coal exploration plan worth Rs 2980cr cleared by Union cabinet
  • Government ploughs in Rs 89000cr in BSNL for 4G, 5G spectrum operations
  • Stocks gain on Wednesday: Sensex adds 350 points to 63142 and Nifty 127 points to 18726
  • Wresters agitation: Sports minister assures action by June 15, wrestlers put off agitation till then
  • WTC Final: India lose the plot after putting Australia to bat as Steve Smith stands like a rock and Travis Head counter attacks to put Australia (327 for 3) in command on the first day
  • Wrestlers agitation: Bajrang Punia. Sakshi Mallik and Vinesh Phogat rejoin work in Railways, BKU pulls back but wrestlers say agitation will go on
  • UP bahubali-turned-politician gets life in 32-year-old murder case
  • India-US seal defence cooperation roadmap as Defence minister Rajnath Singh meets US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin
  • CBI probe in the train mishap will look at error in interlocking system and probe the sabotage angle
  • Violence continues in Manipur as three persons were killed after a mob attacked an ambulance in Imphal West district
  • Karnataka cabinet is likely to discuss cow slaugther law in its next meeting
  • Rahul Gandhi woos diaspora in the US, tries to show the fight in India as between those who believe in Mahatma Gandhi and those in Nathuram Godse
  • In preparation of a shutdown, MTNL moving operations to BSNL
  • Services sector sustains growth although Services PMI slips from 62 in April to 61.2 in May
  • Stocks gain handsomely on Monday: Sensex rises 240 points to 62787 and Nifty 59 points to 18593
WTC Final: Australia take firm grip on Day1 - Travis Head (146 batting) and Steve Smith (95 batting) take them to 327 for 3 as Indian bowling falters
oppn parties
Violence In Kolkata Road Show: Whodunit?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2019-05-15 13:23:05

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
The violence during Amit Shah’s roadshow in central Kolkata was a direct result of the two-way rivalry being witnessed in Bengal. On the one hand, the TMC is fiercely resisting the steady inroads the BJP is making in the state by cornering workers and vote share of the CPM while on the other, the CPM and other left parties are resisting the BJP’s attempts to influence their workers and voters.

It is very difficult to pinpoint who instigated the violence. While some reports pin the blame on the rowdy BJP workers – with one report, quoting witnesses, even said that Amit Shah himself egged them on – other reports say students and others having nothing to do with the roadshow or the BJP were instrumental in starting the fight. The BJP has blamed the TMC for starting the violence while the TMC has said that goons from outside the state started it when students protested against Amit Shah.

But whatever happened was sad and it was after a long time that the university area of College Street which houses the Calcutta University's main campus along with other colleges witnessed such scenes. Particularly shocking was the damage done to the bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar inside the Vidyasagar College. Eyewitnesses claimed that BJP workers shouted that “Vidyasagar’s days are gone” before breaking the bust. But the BJP has said that the fracas inside the college was engineered by TMC “goons”.

The BJP will have to realize that Bengal is different. Hindus in Bengal hold their icons in very high esteem. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was an educationist and reformer and did pioneering work in the field of education and women’s empowerment. He is one of the best-loved icons in the state. If BJP workers are indifferent to such sentiments, Amit Shah’s hope of consolidating Hindu votes in the state will never materialize.

Any party that has no charismatic local leader, little or no infrastructure and till now, low vote share will always face resistance when it tries to spread its wing in any state. But that does not mean that its workers will insult local icons or indulge in violence. Whatever the provocation, given that the party president was leading the show, BJP workers should have exhibited restraint. They would have won a lot of brownie points for that. But ahead of the polls in the city on May 19, their action is likely to harm the party.