Leaders of the Bengal unit of the BJP on Saturday tried their best to further the party’s polarisation agenda by using the law-and-order problems reported from parts of Bengal over protests against the hate speech by now-axed BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

Senior BJP leaders and party workers across Bengal hit the roads from early morning demanding the deployment of paramilitary forces and attacking the state government for its “failure” to tackle the situation in pockets of Howrah.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar was arrested in the afternoon when he attempted to visit the troubled zone in Howrah, ignoring prohibitory orders, and was released four hours later.

After his arrest, BJP workers in several districts began a fresh round of protests against the state government by blocking roads and staging agitations in front of police stations.

The epicentre of the trouble over the last 48 hours was Howrah, where protesters against the hate speech vandalised several shops and set on fire the BJP's Howrah (rural) party office. Though the government suspended Internet connection in large parts of the district, imposed prohibitory orders and arrested 70 persons for their alleged involvement in violence, the BJP leadership kept blaming the state government.

“If the police are as proactive in Howrah as they are here to prevent me from leaving my home, everything will be under control... But the sad part is they won’t act there,” said Majumdar in front of his New Town address in the morning, hours before his arrest.

Sources said that after a meeting with senior leaders, the state BJP unit fixed their political agenda in the issue on Friday evening when Majumdar announced he would visit violent-prone areas in Howrah.

Majumdar was first stopped at his New Town residence on Saturday morning by the police, who requested him not to go to Howrah. After scuffles between BJP workers and police and heated exchanges, Majumdar began his journey to Howrah. Near the second Hooghly bridge, he and some BJP workers were arrested for violating section 144 of the CrPC.

“West Bengal is turning into Kashmir. I was kept in house arrest first and then arrested. What happened in Howrah are the sins of Mamata Banerjee. She is instigating violence so that I am killed,” said Majumdar.

His predecessor Dilip Ghosh on Saturday also visited a BJP office in Uluberia allegedly set ablaze on Friday.

BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda tweeted condemning Majumdar’s arrest and accused the Bengal government of giving shelter to anti-social elements.

Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he would visit the troubled areas on Sunday. Earlier, he demanded deployment of the army or paramilitary forces to control the situation in Howrah.

Trinamul accused BJP leaders of intentionally instigating violence to cover up the embarrassment over the hate speech.

“They are trying to instigate violence when the country lost its face across the globe over the hate-speech... They are only interested in polarisation,” said Trinamul’s national spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Roy.

“The Union government and Delhi police did not take proper steps against the accused BJP spokespersons so far. Why have they not been arrested so far?” Roy asked.

CPM state committee secretary Md Salim said Majumdar's arrest was an eyewash. “Trinamul and BJP both are trying to create a binary and divide people on communal lines,” said Salim.