Hundreds of protesters on Friday blocked roads and railway tracks in different parts of Howrah district in West Bengal over controversial remarks made by two now-suspended BJP leaders against Prophet Mohammad, police said. The agitators clashed with police personnel at Dhulagarh, Panchla, and Uluberia when they tried to lift the blockade on a national highway stretch, a police officer said.
The two saffron party leaders should be immediately arrested for their remarks that have hurt religious sentiments, one of the protesters said. Police had to baton-charge to disperse the crowd at Dhulagarh and Panchla, where the demonstrators pelted stones in retaliation, causing damage to nearby cars, the officer said.
They placed burning tyres on the road at Panchla and Dhulagarh, and set a police kiosk on fire in Uluberia, he said. The protesters also blocked railway tracks at Chengail, Fuleswar, and Santragachi stations in the Howrah-Kharagpur section from 1.22 pm, a South Eastern Railway official said.
Four trains have been cancelled, while two have been diverted due to the agitation, he said. Similar protests had taken place on Thursday, with agitators disrupting traffic at Ankurhati in Howrah district for around 11 hours, officials said. Meanwhile, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has appealed for peace and sought an urgent update on the law and order situation from the state's chief secretary.
"While appealing for peace, WB Guv Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar has sought urgent personal update from CS @chief_west by 10 pm today over worsening law & order situation in state since yesterday," he tweeted. "Expect CM Smt Mamata Banerjee to sternly warn law violators – they will not be spared," he said.
In a communication to the chief secretary, a copy of which was attached to his Twitter post, Dhankhar also said preventive and precautionary measures expected to be taken after Thursday's incident in Howrah were not reflected on the ground. Senior TMC leader and MLA Tapas Ray said that the chief minister has appealed to everyone to maintain peace. We have condemned those comments. We believe in equality and respect towards all religions, caste, and creed. The BJP is trying to destroy the secular fabric of the country," he alleged.
The BJP, however, criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress for its failure to maintain the law and order situation in the state. An important stretch of road was blocked for more than 11 hours and the police are mute spectators. Today also, there are reports of protests in various parts of the state, but the police have taken no action. The law and order situation has gone for a toss. If the BJP takes out a protest rally, our workers are beaten up and arrested, but in this case, no action has been taken," Senior BJP leader and chief whip in the state assembly Manoj Tigga said.
Earlier, Bengal Imams Association president Md Yahia said it had called for protests inside mosques across the state, demanding the arrest of the two BJP leaders, but asserted that the administration is free to take action against people who are blocking roads and inconveniencing the public.
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