Bengal On Boil: Election Commission to hold meeting after massive Kolkata violence

Day after massive violent clashes between BJP and Trinamool Congress workers during Amit Shah’s Kolkata roadshow, the Election Commission will today hold a meeting with West Bengal observers via video conferencing today. There are also reports that the BJP chief is also likely to hold a press conference at party headquarters later in the day. While the ruling Trinamool has blamed the ‘outsiders’ for the violence, the BJP has put the onus on Mamata Banerjee’s party. Students of the Calcutta University have filed a complaint against the BJP president over the vandalism.   

According to a PTI report, parts of the city plunged into a welter of violence as his convoy was attacked with stones by alleged TMC supporters from inside the hostel of Vidyasagar College, triggering a clash between supporters of the two parties, officials said. Furious BJP supporters retaliated and were seen exchanging blows with their TMC rivals outside the college entrance. Several motorcycles parked outside were vandalised and set ablaze. Shards of broken glass littered the lobby of the college where a bust of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a noted philosopher and a key figure of Bengal Renaissance, was smashed to smithreens. Police personnel were seen trying to douse the fire with buckets filled with water.