Kolkata, April 6 (IANS) Trouble broke out during the filing of nominations by Opposition candidates in two separate places in Howrah and Kolkata on Monday.
In Howrah, Left activists were accused of harassing Trinamool supporters. It was even alleged that women supporters of the Trinamool Congress were pushed.
The police stopped a Left supporters’ procession in front of the Howrah District Magistrate’s office. Right then, the Left raised slogans of “Thief, thief” towards the Trinamool workers in front of the District Magistrate’s office.
The names of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and party leader Abhishek Banerjee were also allegedly insulted.
A heated argument broke out between the two sides. Left workers were accused of harassing Trinamool supporters. There were even allegations of pushing away women supporters of the Trinamool Congress.
Purnima Aich, a follower of Trinamool candidate Tapas Maity from Domjur, said: “The CPIM workers were shouting slogans calling us thieves. When we went to protest, they came and attacked us. They pushed us away.”
Sheikh Abdul Salam, a Trinamool member of Gram Panchayat No. 2 in Bankra, said, “When they saw us, they started shouting slogans for no reason. They were shouting slogans in the names of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. As we moved forward, they attacked us.”
The quarrel between the two sides created a lot of tension in front of the Howrah District Magistrate’s office. The scuffle broke out in front of the police.
Meanwhile, in Kolkata’s Alipore area, there were allegations of obstructing the nomination of BJP candidate Papiya Adhikari. BJP workers also engaged in a heated argument with the police.
Papiya Adhikari alleged: “The police have made us stand at Hazra intersection for 1 hour.”
The police are keeping a tight vigil in the Alipore Survey Building area. The entire area has been barricaded. On one side of the barricade, the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” was raised; on the other, “Joy Bangla.” The Alipore Survey Building premises heated up during the slogan war between the two sides.
Papiya Adhikari, the BJP candidate from Tollygunj Assembly constituency, further said: “All Trinamool and CPI (M) candidates have been able to file their nominations. Only the police have stopped us. They have made us stand at Hazra Crossing for a long time. The police are behaving like Trinamool. Do they want us to boycott the vote? If they don’t allow us to file our nominations, how will the vote take place?”
However, the police claimed that a large number of workers and supporters are being moved due to security reasons. No one has been stopped from filing nominations.
Trinamool candidate Debashis Kumar from Rashbehari constituency and Trinamool candidate Shobhandeb Chatterjee from Ballygunge constituency filed their nominations at the Alipore Survey Building today.
The police were active in removing the gathering in front of the Alipore Survey Building today. A large number of forces were also deployed on the premises.
–IANS
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