Kolkata, March 22 (IANS) Tension broke out in a crowded area in Kolkata on Saturday following clashes between BJP supporters and the state police officers as the latter tried to stop a rally by the party against a recent Bill passed in the West Bengal Assembly removing provisions in the Bengal Excise Act, 1909, that prohibited employment of women in ON-category liquor shops.
While ‘Of’ shops are outlets that sell liquor, at ‘On’ shops, consumption of liquor is allowed on the premises.
The rally led by the State BJP President and the Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Sukanta Majumdar, and the party legislator as well as fashion designer-turned-politician Agnimitra Paul was stopped at the B.B. Ganguly Street in Kolkata by the policemen from approaching further.
The BJP supporters protested and tried to move ahead, breaking through the police barricades.
The policemen also resisted resulting in scuffle between the protesters and the policemen.
The police said that since prohibitory orders restricting gathering of more than a certain number of people were imposed in the areas, the protesters were not allowed to proceed further.
Later, BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar claimed that the police resorted to an unprovoked attack on the BJP’s protest rally.
“Earlier in the Bengal Excise Act, of 1909, there was a provision restricting the duty of women in bars, pubs, and dance clubs. Now the Trinamool Congress has changed that under the guise of promoting equality. We in BJP consider equal rights to work for women in any field. But the question is when in West Bengal a qualified doctor was raped and murdered brutally on the premises of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata while she was on duty, then who will ensure the safety of the women workers at these bars and pubs? Would the police administration guarantee their safety?” the State BJP President asked.
Earlier this week, Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT Cell Chief and the party’s special observer for West Bengal, also criticised the Mamata Banerjee-led state government for passing the Bill removing provisions that prohibited employment of women in ON-category liquor shops.
Malviya claimed that the logic put forward by the Trinamool Congress government is an expression of its dichotomy.
According to him, on one hand, amid the R.G. Kar rape and murder incident, the West Bengal government introduced a scheme called ‘Ratri Sathi’, which aimed to restrict women from working late at night.
While this was an implicit admission of the failure on the part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration to ensure women’s safety, Malviya argued, the new bill allowing freedom to women as barmaids in bars, pubs, and dance clubs under the guise of promoting equality was a dichotomy on part of the state government.
“So, what has changed? Has Bengal suddenly become safer? Or is this just another way for TMC hooligans to exploit women?” the BJP leader asked.
–IANS
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