A group of businessmen and shopowners in Tamluk on Monday evening confronted municipality administrator and Trinamul leader Rabindranath Sen and his accompanying police team, saying that they would not follow containment zone rules till the ruling party stopped holding large rallies in the town.

The exchange of words took place between Sen and 40odd shop owners in the Burrabazar market area on Monday evening after Trinamul had held two big rallies in the town since Saturday.

“The lockdown has been a sham here, at least when it comes to those associated with the Trinamul. They organised packed rallies twice last week, but administrators want us to close down our shops and lose our livelihoods,” said RamSita bazar executive committee member and trader Ashtam Mondal.

“There is no consistency in their actions. People are going about like it is normal. So, we simply want to keep our businesses open with the precautions,” he added.

Sen said he was not trying to impose regulations on shopowners and had “requested” them to close down because they were located in a containment zone.

“Trinamul’s rallies did not take place inside containment zones,” he said.

“We requested some shopowners to close down but most did not listen,” he added.

BJP district president Nabarun Nayak attributed recent rise in Covid19 cases in Tamluk to Trinamul’s “callousness”. “Their rallies and open flouting of norms are responsible for this,” Nayak said.