Trinamool's march in south Kolkata was a tit-for-tat show of strength against the BJP.
The controversial "Goli Maaro (shoot the traitors)" slogan made a comeback yesterday at a march in Kolkata, this time by Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress which was led by several senior leaders and ministers of the party.
The march in south Kolkata was a tit-for-tat show of strength against the BJP which had held a roadshow on Monday down the same route.
Clashes had erupted on Monday between Trinamool and BJP supporters at three different places along the way. Flag-waving Trinamool supporters had hurled stones at the roadshow. BJP supporters had chased them and allegedly beaten some up.
Tuesday's rally was a 'peace rally' called by the Trinamool which went down almost exactly the same route at Monday's rally. Among those leading it were power minister Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay and erstwhile mayor in council Debashish Kumar.
Mala Roy, the South Kolkata MP, who addressed a public meeting at the end of the padyatra was heard saying from the dais, "The next time you (BJP) come and create trouble in south Kolkata, we will not only break your legs but also crush your heads."
This is the second time that the "Goli Maaro" slogan has been raised in Kolkata in the past one year in the acrimonious campaign for state polls in April-May.
On March 2 last year, BJP supporters heading for an Amit Shah rally in central Kolkata had chanted the slogan. At least four supporters had later been arrested by Kolkata Police on the basis of video footage of them shouting the slogan.
The Trinamool's political rivals have condemned the latest instance and have challenged the party to act against its own leaders.
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh conceded that the slogan-shouting should not have happened and called it the handiwork of "some over-enthusiastic party supporters".
The slogan first made headlines when it was controversially chanted by BJP leaders in rallies in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act amid nationwide protests against it. Union minister Anurag Thakur had raised the slogan last January against CAA protestors in Delhi.