RSS-BJP coordination meet in Kolkata tomorrow

A coordination meeting between the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will take place in Kolkata on Friday.

The BJP has nominated Siddarth Nath Singh and Kailash Vijayvargiya for the scheduled meeting, which reportedly will review the Malda situation.

Last week, West Bengal's Malda District was in the grip of a violent reaction from Muslim groups to a hate speech given by Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari.

Muslims were protesting against Tiwari saying his speech had derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed. Tiwari had reportedly called Prophet Muhammad the first homosexual in the world.

His statement came a day after Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Azam Khan called RSS members homosexuals.

Violence broke out when protesters came across a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus trying to cross the rally.

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The protestors got into an argument with the driver of the bus and the next moment passengers had to get off the bus because the protesters set it on fire.

The protesters held tall green flags and marched on the National Highway (NH)-34.

Nearly two dozens police vehicles, including one belonging to India's border-guarding agency Border Security Force (BSF), was set on fire and Malda's Kaliachak police station was ransacked by a violent crowd in the Muslim-dominated Sujapur area in the district.

All the records that were stored in files and computers were destroyed.

The violent mob also attacked the Block Development Office (BDO) at Kaliachak-I and went to the Khaltipur Railway Station and squatted on the railway tracks in protest.

When the police reached the spot to take control of the situation, a clash broke out injuring several cops on duty.

Due to the ruckus, the shops were shut down and Muslim protesters also looted some nearby houses. To tackle the situation, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) had to be called in.

The district police arrested 10 people in connection with the violence and increased police arrangements to take care of the law and order.

All the 10 accused were placed in police custody by a district court for six days.