JNU row: Kolkata holds protest rally

CPI-M leaders, including Sujan Chakraborty, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Rajya Sabha member Ritabrata Banerjee and Congress leaders, including Omprakash Mishra, Arunabha Ghosh, Abdul Mannan joined the protest march here which was officially 'apolitical'.

Members of several democratic organizations, students and intellectuals, including theatre artist Kaushik Sen, took part in the rally.

The rally started from College Square and ended at city's downtown Esplanade area.

Senior Congress leader Omprakash Mishra said, "BJP and its wing RSS, taking the help of Delhi Police, attacked protesting students of JNU in an undemocratic way. Modi government wants to divide this country. We have to protest against it."

Condemning of the incident, theatre personality Kaushik Sen said, "As a citizen of Kolkata and as an Indian, I am here today. Such practice by a political party, which has a strong base, is dangerous for the country. Today's rally is very important. We all have to protest against the incident."

CPI-M leader and former Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said, "We have organized a protest rally here, when country's democracy and constitutional rights are being attacked. It is tough time for this country. We have to fight to save our democratic and constitutional rights."

Congress leader Abdul Mannan called all democratic political parties and apolitical organizations to protest jointly against the incident.

"This not a political event. All democratic political parties should fight jointly against it. I thought Trinamool Congress (TMC) or our state government would move against it. But they did nothing. Because, what's being done in Delhi by BJP, autocratic Trinamool is committing the same things here in the state. Our movement will be continued until the end of autocratic governments in Centre and this state as well," Mannan said.

Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader and senior lawyer Arunabha Ghosh said, "Narendra Modi, an uneducated Prime Minister, is acting like the country has been damaged badly by the JNU protest! Modi also went to Pakistan, suddenly, without any notice. We don't know, what did he discuss with Nawaz Sharif there."

"I am surprised, how did they slap the arrested students with 124-A ! They should not be charged under this section," Ghosh added.

After the rally was over, CPI-M Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee told IBNS: "We marched in the streets of Kolkata to protest against the autocratic things, which are going on in our state and country as well. What is happening, this is undeclared emergency."

"Protesting against the autocratic designs, irrespective of any political colour, affiliation, flag and banner, people hit the streets of the city. This protest will be continued," Banerjee added.

Meanwhile, the CPI-M's students' wing- Student Federation of India (SFI)- held a demonstration in front of Kolkata's prestigious Jadavpur University's Gate No. 4 on Monday noon, where the effigies of Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee were burnt. They also blocked the road for nearly 20 minutes.

All India Students' Association (AISA) also hosted a protest campaign at College Square in Kolkata in the afternoon.

The JNU is currently facing protests and counter protests with the police cracking down on students over the anti-India slogans raised earlier to mark the death anniversary of Parliament Attack convict Afzal Guru on its campus in the national capital.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha, Image by Subhodeep Sardar/IBNS)