Didi-Loyalists Cut Short Stir In Kolkata For No Nod From Cops
Their agitation, which also included a plan to take out a rally from Rajabazar to Park Circus: Reports
KOLKATA: Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's loyalists held a protest at Rajabazar in the city on Tuesday, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over vote loot by BJP, without seeking permission from the city police.
Their agitation, which also included a plan to take out a rally from Rajabazar to Park Circus, however did not last long due to absence of Ms Banerjee and a heavy crowd at the venue on APC Road. The stir was led by Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh and Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen of Mamata All India Trinamool Congress.
Others were mostly young faces from the party's students' wing. They gathered at Rajabazar in the afternoon. However, a large contingent of police personnel were already deployed there after Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand made clear that no permission was sought for the rally.
Mr Nand said, “There is no intimation to us about any rally. So I don't know whose rally it is, the crowd strength and the route of the rally. According to procedure, the organisers of a rally have to apply to the law enforcement authorities for permission. Then the application is checked for a decision on it. But we didn't get it.”
Asked about the police permission, Mr Ghosh later claimed, “Our lawyers sent an application on Monday for permission to our rally. I however can't comment on the approval.” He also argued that Ms Banerjee had no plans to attend the agitation.
