CPM state secretary Md Salim on Friday accused Mamata Banerjee of instigating a police crackdown against peaceful protesters and compared the Bengal chief minister with her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath when it came to taking repressive measures against voices of dissent.

Salim was referring to the recent arrest of nine youths in Calcutta for raising slogans demanding justice for the doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Hospital on August 9 and the police crackdown on Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Friday.

“Today is Jayprakash Narayan’s anniversary. (Samajwadi Party leader) Akhilesh Yadav was going to pay respects to Jayprakash Narayan (in Lucknow). Before he could reach the place, the Uttar Pradesh government had locked it…. Mamata Banerjee is trying to implement the politics of UP in Bengal. Today’s incident (in Lucknow) showed that Yogi (Adityanath) was the guru of Trinamool. There is no difference between Yogi and Mamata. Their principles and modus operandi are the same,” said Salim.

He spoke to reporters shortly before Calcutta High Court released on bail the nine protesters who had been arrested on Wednesday for shouting “We demand justice” slogans at a Durga Puja pandal in south Calcutta.

A court had on Thursday sent the nine to seven days’ police custody.

Salim said the Mamata Banerjee government was doing what dissenters had witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Assam and Tripura.

“In Calcutta, we have seen (people being) sent to jail for raising slogans. (They are being) framed in false cases.... This has also been happening in Gujarat — if you protest, you will be framed in false cases.... But no action has been taken against those named in the FIR for vandalising the hospital.”

During the “reclaim the night” movement on the intervening night of August 14
and 15, a group of goons armed with sticks entered the R.G. Kar Hospital and vandalised the building that housed the emergency department and damaged medical
equipment in the presence of the police.

Slamming the chief minister, Salim said Mamata was “playing with fire” and accused her of instigating the police against peaceful protesters who are seeking justice for the R.G. Kar doctor.

“We demand the withdrawal of all false cases and want the police to restrain themselves. It cannot act like the slave of one political party. The police commissioner has been replaced but the character of the police has not changed. That must change,” Salim said.

Manoj Verma took over as Calcutta police commissioner on September 17 after the state government conceded to the demands of the protesting doctors to replace the then police chief Vineet Goyal.

Responding to the deteriorating health parameters of the junior doctors on hunger strike, the CPM leader said it was the responsibility of the government to quickly implement the promises it had given to the Supreme Court, junior doctors or the people.

“If any harm happens to the fasting junior doctors, the chief minister and the health minister will be liable for it,” warned Salim.

Earlier on Friday, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari in a post asked the government to intervene in view of the poor health conditions of the fasting doctors.

“I sincerely hope that the WB Govt approach the matter with a humane perspective so that the Junior Doctors can end their fast and their deteriorating health condition can be restored back,” Adhikari wrote in his post.

Even as the junior doctors’ protest continued to get the solidarity of people of various spheres, Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh in a Facebook post on Friday referred to his repeated fast in jail during his incarceration in the Saradha case and urged the protesters to withdraw their “political hunger strike”.’

“Doctors withdraw your political hunger strike.... For the sake of politics of a few, do not put pressure on your health. Withdraw the fast,” Kunal wrote.

His post prompted a senior doctor attached to a West Bengal Doctors’ Forum to slam the TMC leader for his comment.

“This exposes the insensitive nature of the TMC. They will have to pay a heavy price for this,” the doctor said.