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Kolkata: A group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers on Thursday allegedly ransacked the West Bengal Congress headquarters in Kolkata, setting hoardings on fire and smearing black paint on Rahul Gandhi’s posters over the alleged use of abusive words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the “Vote Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar.
Police said the BJP workers were led by Rakesh Singh, a local leader who was earlier expelled from the state Congress. “Singh could not be traced after the incident,” an officer said.
This follows a row over a 33-second video of the episode that was widely circulated on social media. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, which shows a crowded stage with someone hurling abuses targeted at PM Modi, while others jostled to snatch the mic from him.
Congress West Bengal unit president Subhankar Sarkar led a protest and blocked the CIT Road after the incident, demanding Singh’s arrest. “Congress will not tolerate this hooliganism. We know how to counter the BJP. A protest rally will be in the heart of Kolkata tomorrow,” Sarkar said.
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BJP spokesperson Keya Ghosh said, “Our party does not endorse the culture of violence but how can one control spontaneous outburst.”
Condemning the attack on Congress headquarters, Trinamool Congress (TMC) state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “Congress and BJP may have political differences but that does not mean that the Congress office in Kolkata can be attacked. We condemn it.”
The police did not comment on the incident till Friday evening.
A delegation of the Bihar BJP has, meanwhile, lodged a complaint at the Kotwali police station initially. Three more cases were lodged by Thursday evening at the Laheriasarai police station in Darbhanga, Simri police station, and cyber police station.
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Youth Congress worker Md Naushad, who said that the viral video was of a podium that he had got erected on the outskirts of north Bihar, offered an apology but maintained, “The video appears to have been shot after I left the spot, following Rahul Gandhi, who passed through. I have not yet watched the clip.”
Darbhanga police also posted on X that “Md Naushad was arrested and forwarded to court.”
The officer said that Rafiq alias Raza, who had delivered the derogatory speech from the Congress platform, was also arrested late evening.
People involved in the arrangement of the rally were also detained for interrogation, a police officer said, adding, “We are also keeping tabs on how the video clip was made viral.”
