Congress condemns police lathicharge, TMC passes resolution

The opposition Congress and Left Front today denounced caning of the CPI-M activists by police during yesterday's march to the Bengal secretariat to protest against the alleged unemployment and lawlessness in the state under the TMC rule.
The TMC rubbished the allegations by the Congress and the Left Front and passed a resolution condemning the activities of the opposition MLAs inside the assembly.
The TMC also ruled out any probe into the lathicharge by Kolkata police officials on protesters.
Wearing black bands and holding black flags and posters, the Left party MLAs and those of the Congress, stormed into the well of the House shouting slogans against the Mamata Banerjee government.

The police attack on Left activists yesterday was a "ploy" by the Mamata government to destroy democracy, Leader of the Opposition in assembly Abdul Mannan said.
"I condemn the way CPI-M workers were attacked. The police also lathicharged journalists who were there to cover the rally. This is undemocratic. Nobody was carrying arms or bombs," he said.

Mannan said he too was hurt on his waist and back when he tried to reach the place where CPI-M state secretary and Politburo member Surjya Kanta Mishra and Left Front chairman Biman Bose were standing during the rally.
The 'March to Nabanna' (secretariat) was organised by the Left parties to protest against what they called attack on democracy by the government and the unemployment and lawlessness in the state during Trinamool Congress rule.

State parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee today moved a resolution in the assembly condemning the Opposition for trying to disrupt the proceedings of the House.
"A few people are trying to disrupt the proceedings of this assembly. They are trying to undermine the democracy. Their body language in the assembly is unacceptable. Whatever they are doing for the last two days is totally unacceptable. If they had faith in democracy, they wouldn't have done such things," Chatterjee said while reading out the resolution.
The Congress and Left Front leaders walked in procession from the assembly to the Raj Bhawan to meet Governor K N Tripathi and requested him to take steps against the caning of activists by leaders.

The Left Front and Congress leaders protested against the police action on CPI-M activists and journalists at the assembly too after their proposal to adjourn the house was rejected by the assembly speaker during the day.
A number of security personnel were deployed around Speaker Biman Banerjee during the protest by Congress MLAs including Nepal Mahato, Manoj Chakraborty along and CPI-M's Ashok Bhattacharya, Sujan Chakraborty, Tanmay Bhattacharjee, Manas Mukherjee and others.