By IANS,
Kolkata : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists burnt buses, damaged vehicles and ransacked offices in several parts of West Bengal as a 12-hour shutdown called by the party to protest price rise partially affected life Monday.
BJP workers turned violent, setting afire government buses and damaging taxis and private cars after forcing occupants out of their vehicles. At many places, they intimidated officegoers, and even ransacked the DLF building, a landmark office complex in the showpiece IT hub in Salt Lake’s Sector V here.
Police said around 200 BJP activists were arrested across the state.
Some shops and business establishments downed the shutters, fewer private buses and taxis plied on the roads, particularly in Kolkata, while several long-distance trains were temporarily stranded at various rail stations as BJP activists squatted on tracks.
Many local trains were also cancelled or stalled midway over both Eastern Railway (ER) and South Eastern Railway (SER), sources said. Protesters tried to stop train movement in the vital Howrah and Sealdah stations.
Police said BJP workers stopped public transport vehicles and demonstrated on the Howrah Bridge, the gateway to the metropolis, disrupting traffic movement during peak office hours.
At the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, pre-paid taxis kept off the roads. Flights were, however, normal.
“Several vehicles were damaged and there have been reports of sporadic clashes in some parts of the state,” Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purokayastha told IANS.
He said a bus was set on fire at Howrah Bridge. “But we have successfully lifted many of the blockades,” he said.
According to sources, four buses were also damaged on VIP Road and another was set on fire at Kankurgachi area in Kolkata.
More than 200 BJP supporters were arrested for trying to disrupt normal life across the state. Besides the vandalism at the DLF building, BJP supporters stopped office-bound IT sector employees on the roads.
“The IT sector has witnessed regular attendance except one untoward incident at DLF building. Altogether, 12 activists have been arrested in connection with the incident,” state IT principal secretary Siddarth said.
BJP state president Rahul Sinha said the 12-hour shutdown was complete and successful.
“The allegation that the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) – which has been ruling the state since 1977 – is supporting us has been spread by the opposition Trinamool Congress,” Sinha said.
Many school students could not attend school as the agitators stopped cars and school buses.
In Burdwan district, Kalka Mail and Agniveena Express were detained as protesters blocked railway tracks at Devipur station. In Hooghly district, BJP activists blocked tracks at Dankuni station, stranding the Shatabdi Express.
Life was also impacted in other districts like Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas.
State Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen, however, said the shutdown was “not at all successful”. He added: “Wherever there was no police, the activists created disturbances.”
BJP state vice-president Sabyasachi Bagchi said: “We’ve called the 12-hour shutdown in West Bengal protesting the price rise of essential commodities and electricity charges. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is totally indifferent about these basic issues.”
As for vandalism by BJP activists across the state in the name of supporting the strike, he said: “Some bad elements are always there and they create disturbances. We do not support it.”
“These elements are planted to create trouble for common people during the strike so that the image of our party gets damaged.”