Trinamool Congress workers showed black flags, shouted slogans, and surrounded the vehicle of rebel party MP Sunil Mondal in Kolkata on the morning of Saturday, 26 December, just as he was arriving at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Hastings for a felicitation programme, NDTV reported.
Mondal had joined the BJP in the presence of Amit Shah on 19 December, along with several others. A Trinamool worker even threw himself in front of the MP's vehicle on Saturday. According to the report, the brief commotion was over in a few moments but the area remained tense.
Several rebel Trinamool leaders, who joined the BJP last Saturday in the presence of Shah in Medinipur, were at the BJP office for a felicitation event on Saturday.
Besides Sunil Mondal, Suvendu Adhikari, the former minister in the Mamata Banerjee government, was also expected. A stage was built by the Trinamool close to the BJP office. It was not clear if it was done with police permission. Trinamool workers were shouting slogans from there.
Police presence in the area was stepped up and barricades set up between the Trinamool stage and the entry to the BJP office. Trinamool MP Sougata Roy said the protest may have taken place spontaneously.
According to NDTV’s report, BJP leader Jay Prakash Majumdar said these tactics by the Trinamool to suppress the BJP would fail.
The BJP has been investing unprecedented amount of time and resources in the state ahead of the Assembly polls, looking to replace the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress from power.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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