TMC stages protests accusing BJP of fomenting trouble in hills

Trinamool Congress workers burn an effigy during a protest rally in Kolkata   | PTI

PTI | Oct 7, 2017, KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) took to the streets on Saturday blaming the BJP for stirring up fresh trouble in the Darjeeling hills where peace was returning after months of unrest.

The party took out rallies across the state and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tit-for-tat protest. The BJP had on Friday burnt effigies of chief minister Mamata Banerjee for keeping mum on the recent attack on the party's state unit chief Dilip Ghosh in the hills.

"We took out rallies across the state and burnt Narendra Modi's effigy to counter the saffron party's attempt to create disturbance in the Darjeeling hills," state power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay told reporters.

Leading the protest in Behala in south Kolkata, TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee accused the BJP of trying to disturb the peace in the hills.

Chatterjee also alleged that the Centre was helping the divisive forces in the hills.

"When peace has returned to the hills, the BJP is trying to disturb it. It is helping a person (Bimal Gurung), who has cases under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) lodged against him. If it (BJP) tries to disturb the peace, the people of Bengal will never forgive it," Chatterjee said.

Stating that the TMC was not involved in the attack on Ghosh in Darjeeling, Chatterjee said that it was an outburst of the hill people who agitated against the BJP team's visit.

State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee also led a protest demonstration at Gariahat in South Kolkata."The BJP is also trying to disturb the development programmes, initiated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, in the state. But they will never succeed," Mukherjee said.

Demonstrations were also held in different districts.