Kolkata, Oct. 13 -- MAITC's student and youth wings staged a protest at Rajabazar on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR. The proposed march from Rajabazar to Park Circus was halted by police barricades, with a large contingent of Kolkata Police and central forces deployed in the area.
The protest began around 2 pm. CM Suvendu Adhikari on Monday directed the police to
restrict the proposed route. MAITC leaders, including MP Dola Sen, MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Kunal Ghosh, youth leader Upasana Chowdhury and Priyanka Adhikary, joined the demonstration. Unable to proceed along the planned route, protesters gathered at Rajabazar and addressed the crowd from atop a matador.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda said the police had not been informed about the programme.
Ghosh, however, alleged that central forces had been deployed to prevent the party's student and youth activists from marching. He claimed that security personnel's route marches and restrictions on vehicles were causing traffic congestion and preventing party workers from reaching the venue. He also alleged that the BJP government was afraid of the protest.
During the demonstration, protesters raised slogans such as "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor", targeting Kumar and the BJP over the SIR process and demanding the CEC's resignation.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.