The Bengal BJP on Friday hit the streets to demand the resignation of chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, which was vandalised at midnight on Independence Day allegedly to destroy evidence of the crime.

The party also brought in leaders from Delhi, including former Union minister Smriti Irani, to plan its next steps to corner the state government.

The national president of The BJP’s Mahila Morcha, Vanathi Srinivasan, arrived in Calcutta on Friday accompanied by three women BJP MPs from Delhi to lead their Bengal counterparts.

“All BJP leaders were instructed to take to the streets to protest the brutality against the lady doctor and the vandalism at the hospital. Many leaders staged sit-ins in different districts and Calcutta with roads being blocked in several areas,” said a senior BJP leader.

The statewide programme was hurriedly announced by the party’s state president Sukanta Majumdar on Thursday.

“Other central leaders are also scheduled to visit the state. The party will continue its protests,” he added.

Although the party leaders held protests in various locations in Calcutta and the districts, the police and the administration neutralised most of these efforts by arresting the protesters.

The BJP’s main protest was a sit-in at Shyambazar Metro Station near R.G. Kar that witnessed the participation of all senior leaders, including MLAs, MPs and the party’s state president.

As the police dismantled the stage, the BJP leaders sat on the road to protest against the action. Most senior leaders, including Majumdar, were arrested on the spot.

The BJP has decided to approach the court seeking permission to hold a peaceful sit-in at the same location.

“The police have arrested all our leaders who were protesting against the brutality inflicted on a lady doctor. Yet, the police cannot arrest the rapists or prevent the vandalism at the hospital. We will move to the court,” Majumdar said from the prison van.

Another major protest in Calcutta — a candlelight and torch march organised by the party’s women’s wing — was planned to proceed from the Exide Crossing to Mamata’s residence in Kalighat, demanding her resignation.

However, the police barricaded the procession, preventing the march from starting. The protesting BJP women leaders, holding candles and torches, began demonstrating in front of the barricades.

Some BJP leaders, however, questioned the planning of these protests. They suggested that a centralised programme would have been more effective than holding protests in multiple districts and venues.

“Despite the presence of senior leaders, women MPs and MLAs at the Shyambazar venue, the number of party supporters was not large. This was because the programme was announced by the state president just a day earlier. Similarly, participation in the candle march was also limited. A centralised protest would have been more effective,” said a BJP insider.

BJP leaders and workers, who blocked roads or protested in the districts, were quickly removed by the police due to the poor turnout of workers and leaders.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said he had moved Calcutta High Court demanding the deployment of central forces at R.G. Kar to protect the protesters and the crime scene. He also wrote to the Union home secretary requesting the same.

SUCI strike call

Trade and traffic in several Bengal districts were partially disrupted by the 12-hour strike called by the SUCI.

The police arrested SUCI supporters who supported the strike and were involved in clashes with law enforcers in various locations in Calcutta and the districts.

“The police arrested 266 of our party workers, including 70 women, and 33 people were injured because of police brutality. We will hold a protest rally against police atrocities tomorrow,” said Chandidas Bhattacharya, the SUCI state secretary.

Bhattacharya announced a march to Nabanna by women on August 29 to protest the brutality against the junior doctor, urging women from various spheres to join in the event.

DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee, along with leaders of CPM-backed SFI and AIDWA, said the power that mostly women and a large section of the society demonstrated on the night of August 14 on the streets of Bengal had given strength to their movement that sought to ensure punishment for those involved in the rape and murder.

Speaking at the Press Club in Calcutta on Friday, Minakshi accused the government of trying “to hide the real culprits behind the ghastly crime”.

“The gruesome murder is an explosion triggered by the mafia racket that thrives on corruption in hospitals in the state... Enough is enough... We want the resignation of the police minister and the health minister,” she said, adding that the fight would spread across Bengal till the parents of the deceased get justice.

“The track record of the CBI is not good and we will keep an eye on Nizam Palace (the Calcutta headquarters of the central agency), too,” she added.