BJP leaders held for rally against Imam

Kolkata: Several top BJP leaders were arrested by Kolkata police on Thursday while taking out a rally to condemn the comments of a Muslim cleric who had issued a “fatwa” against state party president Dilip Ghosh.

The rally was organised against the fatwa issued by Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Maulauna Noor-ur Rahman Barkati, against Mr Ghosh for his comments against chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“Police are acting as the cadres of TMC. They beat up our workers who were protesting peacefully,” Locket Chatterjee, one of the 48 BJP leaders to be arrested, alleged.

The rally started from Central Avenue near BJP state office and was scheduled to reach Tipu Sultan Mosque in Esplanade area in the heart of the city. Police cordoned off Central Avenue and asked BJP workers not to proceed but when they tried to move ahead, police used force to stop them from crossing the barricade.

“Some of the BJP leaders and workers have been arrested. We tried to stop them but they tried to force their way, so we had to arrest them. But at this moment we can’t give the figures and names,” a Kolkata police official said.

BJP claimed that Mr Ghosh was injured during a scuffle with police when it tried to stop the rally. It also said senior leaders, including MLA Swadhin Kumar Sarkar and state BJP general secretary Deboshree Chowdhary, were arrested.

Mr Ghosh said, “This is inhuman and undemocratic. We are not being allowed to take out a rally peacefully. We condemn this autocratic rule of TMC. They (TMC) are so much busy with appeasement politics, that we are not allowed to take out a rally.”

The Imam had on Monday issued a fatwa against Mr Ghosh for making “filthy comments” against the CM.