West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday held a sit-in before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here protesting against the alleged failure of the West Bengal government to contain violence in Howrah district.

The Gandhi statue at the Mayo Road-Dufferin Road crossing in central Calcutta has been witness to numerous protests.

Majumdar, who started his agitation around noon, also flayed the alleged attempt of the TMC-run government to stop Opposition leaders from meeting people, hit by the recent violence.

Widespread violence broke out in Howrah district on Friday over inflammatory comments by now-suspended BJP functionaries Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

The BJP leader alleged that the police had not taken prompt action to prevent the violence from spiralling in Panchla, Uluberia, Dhulagarh in Howrah district, and Beldanga in Murshidabad district at the outset.

Majumdar and his supporters were arrested on Saturday while trying to visit Howrah district where several saffron party offices were attacked, as the district was under prohibitory orders and gatherings of five or more people were banned there.

The BJP leader and his companions were, however, later released.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters, "The BJP has no moral right to talk on the issue as the comments of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal triggered the outrage and hurt the sentiments of people of a particular community and lowered the image of the country abroad."