Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists detained by the police during their march towards the West Bengal Legislative Assembly to protest in Kolkata on Friday | photo Credit: –
Protests organized by opposition parties in West Bengal and a strike called by a section of state government employees on Friday took the police and administration by surprise.
While government employees protested demanding DA (Dearness Allowance) parity with central government employees, supporters of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) protested over an alleged recruitment scam. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters gheraoed the state health department’s headquarters over the deaths due to adenovirus infection.
Members of the SFI, who gathered at Sealdah and Howrah railway stations, marched towards the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The police had to struggle a lot when the SFI supporters reached the gate of the assembly and tried to enter. The assembly session was going on and when the police personnel reached and started sloganeering, they were stopped. The police had denied permission to the SFI to take out the rally. State Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Salim said that students do not need permission to hold rallies against corruption.
The situation worsened near Swasth Bhawan, the headquarters of the state health department in the Salt Lake area, when BJP supporters tried to march towards the office. Amid scuffles between BJP supporters and the police, BJP’s Mahila Morcha chief Tanuja Chakraborty and party MLA Agnimitra Mitra alleged that they were pushed and injured by the police.
The protesting BJP supporters were detained and taken away from the venue in an ambulance brought by the police. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said that the police allowed the SFI supporters to march to the assembly gate, but they used force against the BJP members.
On the other hand, a section of government employees went on strike demanding parity of Dearness Allowance (DA) with central government employees. Opposition political parties, including the Left parties, the Congress and the BJP, supported the strike.
The protesting employees demonstrated outside West Bengal government offices such as Writers’ Building, Vikas Bhawan, Food Bhawan, Swasth Bhawan and Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Despite the government’s warning, attendance in government offices remained low. The work in government offices was severely affected by the strike.
According to an order issued by the state’s finance department, on March 10, no casual leave or any other type of leave will be given to any employee in the first half of the day or in the second half or for the whole day.
“The absence of employees on that day will be treated as dies (break in service) and no pay shall be admissible unless such absence covers hospitalization of the employees or bereavement in the family, serious illness and absence prior to March 9,” the order issued on Thursday said. Having said.
Later in the day, the West Bengal government said that there was no impact on the normal functioning of state government offices. “Action will be initiated against those employees who willfully absent themselves from work today,” the government said in a press release.
There were several instances in the districts where Trinamool Congress supporters tried to enforce that government offices and educational institutions should remain open, resulting in clashes and scuffles with protesting employees.
Attending a government function, Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said state government employees have a right to protest but the people of the state have rejected the culture of bandh and hartal.
In another development, there was an exchange of words between Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Shubhendu Adhikari and State Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmik on the floor of the Assembly.