West Bengal: BJP Workers Protest Near KMC Office, Demand ‘Dengue Free’ Kolkata

The protesters also accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of not doing enough to tackle the dengue menace in the state.

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the rising cases of dengue in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Youth workers on Wednesday took out a massive rally to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) office. The BJP workers demanded a ‘dengue free’ Kolkata. However, to disperse the protesters, the Kolkata Police used water cannons at them.

BJP workers protest near Kolkata Municipal Corporation office demanding a 'dengue free' Kolkata among other demands. Police use water cannons to disperse protesters. pic.twitter.com/Lc4xulfDEB

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2019

Led by state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, the protesters took out the rally from Central Avenue to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) office in the city. The protesters also accused the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government of trying to ‘hush up’ the dengue figures in the state.

However, many of the protesters were detained by the police during the demonstration. BJP leader Rimjhim Mitra after being detained during the protest said, “We had prior permission to hold a protest and the protest was peaceful. Male police personnel manhandled us.”

BJP leader Rimjhim Mitra after being detained with party workers during protest: We had prior permission to hold a protest and the protest was peaceful. Male police personnel manhandled us. #Kolkata https://t.co/HQZWy6uthi pic.twitter.com/QktJbftseQ

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2019

“The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government has been trying to ‘hush up’ the figures (of those killed and affected). The government and the KMC are more keen on hiding the actual numbers rather than taking steps to tackle the menace,” state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, was quoted as saying by News 18.

Before starting the rally, the BJP had said that it wanted to submit a deputation to Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim with regard to the dengue threat and, if stopped, the party said it would resort to a sit-in demonstration.

As per a report from the state health department, Kolkata and the adjoining areas in the past many months have been witnessing as many as 44,852 dengue cases. The government data further stated that at least 25 people have died of dengue in the state since January.

The clash with police happened when a group of protesters tried to jump the barricades at the protest site with some of them were heard sloganeering ‘Jai Shri Ram.’