BJP backs Jamia boots The job of the police is to fire when people are destroying public properties in the name of protests: Dilip Ghosh

TT, 17.12.19, Calcutta: BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Monday endorsed the crackdown on anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi and in Assam before asserting that police should have launched similar action in Bengal also.

“The job of the police is to fire when people are destroying public properties in the name of protests. Delhi Police and Assam Police had done their job unlike the Bengal police. Here, the police are peacefully watching destruction of public properties and doing nothing to control the vandalism,” the state BJP chief said.

Calling the police in Bengal “eunuchs”, the Midnapore MP said he had asked BJP supporters not to seek permission for rallies as the force was playing the role of mere spectators without initiating any FIR against the “Bangladeshi Muslim” agitators who had been destroying public properties since Friday late afternoon.

“I told my workers not to listen to police or even ask for their permissions to hold protest rallies against the continuing vandalism. I told them to hold protest marches and rallies whenever and wherever they deem it necessary to protect public properties. Eastern Railway alone has estimated their damages at Rs 16 crore,” Ghosh said.

He didn’t disclose how he had got the figure.

Ghosh announced that BJP national working president Jagat Prakash Nadda would hold a “mega rally” in Calcutta on December 23 to protest the “propaganda” against the CAA and allay the “confusion” among people over the new law.

“We will hold a mega rally of one lakh people in Calcutta on December 23 with Naddaji in attendance, after several rallies in districts,” the Midnapore MP added.

He added that marches would be taken out in all 38 organisational districts of the BJP in the state to counter the “violent” anti-CAA protests since Friday.

Ghosh alleged that the state BJP headquarters had been attacked during the chief minister’s rally from Red Road to Jorasanko on Monday.

The BJP alleged that shoes and plastic bottles were thrown from the Central Avenue aiming the Muralidhar Sen Lane that houses state BJP headquarters while the rally was passing through the area.

Ghosh said Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim and some “other Muslim leaders” of Trinamul should be booked for their provocative statements, which is causing violence.a