Trinamul adopts two-pronged strategy to tackle Agnipath protests

The twin approach, a source in the party said, was part of an attempt to strike a balance between political activism and administrative responsibility

Multiple sources in the administration said the state government has directed the civil and police administrations not to allow “even a single violent protest” that may result in loss of public properties or inconvenience people. : File photo

Snehamoy Chakraborty   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |    19.06.22  : The Trinamul Congress is learnt to have instructed the Bengal administration not to allow violent protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme while at the same time directing party leaders to up the ante against the project and demand its immediate scrapping.

The twin strategies, a source in the party said, was part of an attempt to strike a balance between political activism and administrative responsibility.

“The protests have been continuing for four days.… The scale of the agitation makes it clear that there is a growing realisation among the public, especially youths, that the Narendra Modi government is failing to solve the problem of unemployment in the country,” a Trinamul leader said.

According to him, while the groundswell of anger against Agnipath, which seeks to recruit youths in the army for only four years and release three-fourths of them without pension and ex-serviceman status at the end of the tenure, is an opportunity for the Opposition parties to intensify the movement against the Modi government, the state cannot allow violent protests as it will show the administration in a poor light.

Multiple sources in the administration said the state government has directed the civil and police administrations not to allow “even a single violent protest” that may result in loss of public properties or inconvenience people.

The Union home ministry wrote to all state governments on Saturday, asking them to increase security at railway stations, national highways and around government offices.

“All protests near public offices or properties like railway stations or highways have been strictly prohibited. The police have been asked to take immediate action to vacate these places in case protesters gather. The top cops in the districts have been told to collect intelligence from the ground to nip any violent protest in the bud,” a senior state government official said.

The decision to prevent possible flare-ups by activating ground-level officials well in advance appears to be the result of the lessons the state government learnt while tackling the unrest over now-suspended BJP spokespersons’ derogatory comments about the Prophet.

“We cannot allow a repeat of what happened in districts like Howrah and Murshidabad during the row over the BJP spokespersons’ comments.… The large-scale vandalism prompted questions on the law-and-order situation in Bengal and the BJP lapped it up. We cannot have a similar situation in less than a week,” a source said.

Some police officers this correspondent spoke to said round-the-clock monitoring from every police station across Bengal had helped avert any major incident so far at a time neighbouring states such as Bihar and Jharkhand have been witnessing violence like the torching of trains and destruction of public properties.

“There is no bar on peaceful protests but a section of protesters tend to promote violence.… We are trying to prevent such elements by being vigilant at the ground level,” an officer said.

The police have adopted a two-pronged approach to minimise the possibility of destructive protests.

First, it has activated the cyber cell department to keep a close vigil on social media platforms to gather information on plans for protests near public properties and identify the main organisers. 

Second, monitoring movement on roads connecting railway stations or government offices to prevent the possibility of any large gatherings.

“Besides, we have given a free hand to the police to tackle mob situations,” a source said.

On Saturday, a protest had been planned at Bankura railway station but it was neutralised before youths converged on the venue from different areas.

Police sources said they had received a tip-off on Friday night and collected information about the agitators like areas from where they could come. Early on Saturday, policemen were deployed on roads leading to the station and the agitators were not allowed to reach the protest venue.

A group of youths who were planning to hold protests at Barrackpore station were similarly thwarted. Later, four of them were arrested.

Trinamul leaders in the districts, a source said, are also playing a role in preventing any untoward incident.

“We recently witnessed how the BJP used the controversy created by its spokespersons to fan communal trouble in the state.… So, it is the time to tread with caution,” said a senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta.

“While we will keep things calm in the state, our protests against Agnipath will continue,” he added.