Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee stated on Monday that police had denied permission for her party to hold a protest in Kolkata regarding attacks on senior TMC figures. She described a police-dominated environment in West Bengal and warned she would travel to Delhi to demonstrate alone if barred from staging an event on Tuesday.
Speaking online to supporters, Banerjee noted that the party had requested to protest at Rani Rashmoni Road but was refused. She called the decision politically driven and vowed to continue the campaign, possibly shifting it to the capital. She further claimed police were assisting the BJP in intimidating and detaining TMC members.
She said permission for a small gathering of about 100 people had been withheld despite the road being clear, and suggested an alternative site could have been offered. If blocked, she would protest solo in Delhi.
Her comments followed recent incidents in which her nephew Abhishek Banerjee was injured during a visit to a post-poll victim’s home in Sonarpur, and MP Kalyan Banerjee was targeted in Hooghly. Banerjee accused the BJP of attempting to eliminate opposition leaders.
She alleged police were blocking TMC meetings and rallies across the state, claiming 2,500 party offices had been damaged and workers faced fabricated cases. She also questioned recent civic poll results, alleging 177 seats were manipulated.
Regarding the Falta bypoll, she said arrests of 500 agents had hampered campaigning. She accused authorities of enabling lawlessness and rejected claims that financial inducements would cause mass defections from the party.
