Insta
A CPI-M rally.
Senior Left leaders, including CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra and party politburo member Biman Bose, were arrested on Saturday (18 April) after they hit the roads to protest against the alleged PDS scam and demanding increasing the number of Covid-19 tests in West Bengal.
The Left leaders gathered at the base of B R Ambedkar's statue on central Kolkata's Mayo Road carrying posters and placards, railing against the state's Trinamool Congress government's 'mishandling' of the Covid-19 situation and demanding immediate stop to pilferage of rice in the Public Distribution System (PDS), corruption and black-marketeering.
Wearing masks and standing metres apart to maintain social distancing, the Left leaders also demanded the state government to disclose to the public the details about tests, number of deaths and those affected by the viral infection.
After some time, Left Front chairman Bose, Mishra, leader of the Left Front legislative party Sujon Chakraborty and CPI-M politburo member Mohammad Salim were arrested by the police and taken to the city police headquarters in Lalbazar.
"Amid the coronavirus crisis, people are not getting adequate supply of foodgrains. There is massive corruption. We had complained to the Chief Minister, but that didn't yield any result. So we were forced to hit the streets," said Chakraborty.
Mishra maintained that the Trinamool Congress government was trying to stifle the voice of the opposition, while Salim accused the Kolkata Police of violating the norms of social distancing by putting so many leaders together.
"We are here to protest against such things happening in the state," said Bose.
Leaders of other Left Front partners, including Communist Party of India, All India Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party, besides, PDS, CPI-ML and other parties, participated in the protest.
This news has been published via Syndicate feed. Only the headline has been changed.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest