Kolkata anti-Gyanesh rally blocked; crackdown on Mamata’s march sparks row

A protest march organised by the Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress was brought to an abrupt halt at Rajabazar in Kolkata on Tuesday after a heavy police presence and central forces blocked the route towards Park Circus.

The incident has intensified the political confrontation between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition, raising questions about the balance between maintaining public order and protecting the democratic right to peaceful protest.

The march, scheduled to begin at 2 pm, was called to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid allegations of irregularities involving the Election Commission.

The organisers also sought to protest against the alleged suppression of opposition voices and police action against demonstrators in Delhi.

However, the planned procession barely moved beyond its starting point. Police erected barricades across the road and established a three-tier security cordon, preventing the demonstrators from proceeding towards Park Circus.

Hundreds of party workers had gathered for the march, accompanied by senior leaders, including MLA Kunal Ghosh, MP Dola Sen and MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.

The scale of the security deployment stood in sharp contrast to the size of the procession, according to the organisers, who accused the administration of treating a political demonstration as a major law-and-order threat.

The confrontation followed a strong warning from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday night. Speaking during a visit to a Durga Puja pandal, he said he had instructed the police to prevent the march from moving forward.

Adhikari declared, “I have instructed the CP not to allow them to advance even a single step from Rajabazar. I have told the police to nip it in the bud right where it starts.”

He also said central forces should be deployed if necessary, adding, “I will not let them cross. I will not allow any chaos during Durga Puja.”

Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda said the police had received no formal application or official notification about the proposed rally.

“We do not have any information regarding any rally or any official intimation,” he said, explaining that the administration could not plan security arrangements based on posters or social media posts.

Nanda also pointed to the additional pressure on the police during Durga Puja, when traffic management, crowd control and public safety require careful coordination. He said organisers needed to follow the prescribed procedures and provide details about the route and expected attendance.

The absence of formal permission was the administration’s principal justification for stopping the march. The Mamata Banerjee-led AITC, however, maintained that emails had been sent and discussions had taken place with the police.

As demonstrators found themselves trapped behind barricades, Kunal Ghosh and other leaders addressed supporters from the spot rather than abandon the protest.

Ghosh accused the government of attempting to intimidate the opposition. “The way the state government and central forces issued threats since last night, deploying police and conducting route marches on surrounding roads, we will not take the bait of their provocation,” he said.

He insisted that the demonstration had achieved its purpose despite being prevented from moving forward. “The objective of our movement is successful. They are afraid. Delhi is afraid, and the West Bengal government is afraid,” Ghosh declared.

He also criticised the deployment of police and central forces against the demonstrators, describing the approach as “the politics of cowards”. Raising slogans against the chief election commissioner, he demanded accountability over the electoral issues that had prompted the protest.

Dola Sen similarly questioned the level of security deployed against what she described as a procession involving students and young party workers.

“Today, too, the situation is like a war zone,” she said, referring to the barricades and the presence of central forces. She alleged that the authorities were creating an atmosphere of intimidation rather than facilitating a peaceful demonstration.

Her remarks reflect the party’s position, while the police maintain that their actions were necessary because the rally had not received formal clearance.

The party also launched a broader political attack through a post on X, directly tagging Adhikari and questioning his response to the proposed march.

“Why is Suvendu Adhikari so terrified? What does it mean to say that a protest march will not be allowed? What is the meaning of the threat to deploy central forces against peaceful protesters? Is this democracy, or merely a farce?” the party asked.

It further alleged that West Bengal was witnessing an alarming political climate marked by excessive displays of power and disregard for constitutional principles.

“When an incumbent Chief Minister issues such threats, intimidates citizens, and seeks to curtail their right to peaceful protest, does it not undermine the very foundations of democracy?” the post stated.

The party also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership to explain whether they supported such a political culture.

Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar dismissed the significance of the protest, arguing that the TMC had little support left. He maintained, “The party could proceed if it secured permission, but to my knowledge, approval had not been granted.”