After Clash At BJP's Kolkata Rally, Governor Plans Round-Table: 10 Points

BJP workers clashed with the police at the Bowbazar crossing in Central Kolkata

Kolkata: Kolkata witnessed an unprecedented pitched battle between the BJP workers and the police today as the party attempted to hold a rally to Lalbazar, the state police headquarters in the heart of the city. Following the violence, during which the police used batons, tear gas and water cannons and the party retaliated with stones, Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi stepped in and called for an all-party meeting tomorrow. The ruling Trinamool Congress said it would attend the meeting as the Governor "is a constitutional body".

The BJP workers clashed with the police at the Bowbazar crossing in Central Kolkata as they tried to march to Lalbazar this afternoon. As the men jostled to get past the barricades, the police started firing tear gas shells and water cannons. In retaliation, the workers hurled stones and bottles at the officers.
Today's rally was in protest against the killing of two BJP workers at Bashirhat on Saturday and the many other workers, who, the BJP claims, died in clashes over the last few weeks.
All 18 newly elected lawmakers of the party, its state president Dilip Ghosh, the party's state in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya and senior party leader Mukul Roy joined in the march.
Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi has invited leaders of the state's top four political parties to come for talks to Raj Bhavan at 4 pm tomorrow.
Asked if the Trinamool Congress will go for the Governor's meet, Abhishek Banerjee, who is also the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said: "We will go to the Governor's all party meeting tomorrow. The governor is a constitutional body. We will not say anything about him".
While the ruling Trinamool Congress will be represented by Partha Chatterjee, there will be state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, the CPM's Surjya Kanta Mishra and Somen Mitra of the Congress.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Governor have been on collision course lately and the Chief Minister has tagged him "block president of the BJP".
Amid a buzz about Article 356 --- under which President's Rule can be imposed in the state Governor Tripathi had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief AMit Shah earlier this week.
Ms Banerjee says the Governor has been misinformed about the number of people who died in the political violence in the state since the national elections. The Governor has claimed 12 people died, but the toll is 10 and 8 of them are from Trinamool, she has said.
Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has lost a chunk of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats to the BJP in the recently concluded national elections. From 34 of the state's 42 seats in 2014, the party was reduced to 22 seats. The BJP, which won just two seats in 2014, won 18.