West Bengal: BJP state chief writes to Governor, seeks release of students detained during ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ protests

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 28 (ANI): Union Minister and BJP West Bengal President Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday urged West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose to instruct the state police to release the student activists detained during the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ protests march and said that detention violates their democratic right to protest.

Saying that an “unspecified number” of students have been detained, Majumdar asserted that the state police had used excessive force against the peaceful student activists during protests.

The letter reads, “With due respect, I am writing to draw your attention to the recent incidents of excessive use of force by the police against peaceful student activists during today’s Nabanna Avijaan protest, organised by Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj. An unspecified number of students have been detained in Howrah, Kolkata, and other areas across West Bengal.”

“As you are aware, the right to protest is a fundamental democratic right guaranteed to every citizen. Peaceful protests are essential to the fabric of our democracy, allowing citizens to express their grievances and opinions. The actions of the police in this instance appear to be disproportionate and unprovoked, undermining the democratic values that we, as a nation, uphold,” the letter added.

Majumdar, in a letter written to Governor Bose, further requested to take immediate and necessary steps to address state police’s “disproportionate” and “unprovoked” manner during the protests.

The letter further reads, “In light of these grave concerns, I earnestly request you to take immediate and necessary steps to address these instances of police excesses. Additionally, I urge you to instruct the state police to release all the student activists currently in custody unconditionally, as their detention violates their democratic rights.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a ’12-hour Bengal Bandh’ on Wednesday, August 28 in protest against police crackdown on peaceful protest during ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ – a march to the state secretariat on Tuesday.

According to Majumder, the bandh was called in opposition to the “violence on the student agitation” during the protest march earlier Tuesday.

Speaking to ANI while protesting in front of the Kolkata Police Headquarters in the Lal Bazar area, Majumder said, “The police and Mamata Banerjee have unleashed violence on the student agitation. They have lathi-charged, used tear gas and used water cannons on the democratic, peaceful protest. So in opposition to this, we have called for a 12-hour bandh in Bengal tomorrow.”

He further demanded the release of the students who were arrested by the police during the “Nabanna Abhiyan.”

On Tuesday, a march to West Bengal Secretariat ‘Nabanna’ was organised by the ‘Paschim Banga Chatra Samaj’ and other organisations, which aimed to protest the recent rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata.