West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, along with thousands of party workers, took to the streets of Kolkata on Monday, vowing not to allow the proposed country-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state.
The protest march started from Red Road in heart of the city, and it is set to culminate at Jorasakho Thakur Bari, the residence of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in north Kolkata, about 4km away.
'We will never allow NRC and CAA in Bengal,' Banerjee said as she read out an 'oath' to her party workers.
State governor Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at the Trinamul chief over the rally and urged her to desist from 'unconstitutional and inflammatory' actions.
'I am extremely anguished that CM and Ministers are to spearhead rally against CAA, law of the land. This is unconstitutional. I call upon CM to desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act at this juncture and devote to retrieve the grim situation,' Dhankhar tweeted.
.@MamataOfficial. I am extremely anguished that CM and Ministers are to spearhead rally against CAA, law of the land. This is unconstitutional. I call upon CM to desist from this unconstitutional and inflammatory act at this juncture and devote to retrieve the grim situation.
— Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) December 16, 2019
The governor had earlier raised questions over the Trinamul supremo’s opposition to the CAA and said 'any person holding a constitutional post cannot oppose the law of the land.'
Dhankhar said the chief minister should devote her attention to restoring normalcy in the state, where violent protests over the law have been raging over the past three days.
The state is witnessing sporadic protests over the amended citizenship act for the fourth consecutive day.
Incidents of road and rail blockade are being reported from all over the state, officials have said.
In the districts, agitators have blocked thoroughfares in East Midnapore, Murshidabad, Malda, Nadia and North 24 Parganas, inconveniencing hundreds of commuters, they said.
In Malda district, protestors have assembled outside Shamsi Railway station.
Several express and local trains have been cancelled or delayed due to the ongoing protests.
Internet services remained suspended in six districts of Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Howrah, North 24 Parganas and parts of South 24 Parganas.
On Sunday night, the officer in-charge of Uluberia police station, along with a few other police personnel, sustained injuries after they were attacked by agitators.
