Trinamool calls 12-hour "Bangla bandh" tomorrow

Kolkata, Nov 30 (UNI) The Trinamool Congress today called a 12-hour Bangla bandh tomorrow in protest against the ''illegal arrest'' and police atrocities on party supremo Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing a press conference in the Trinamool Congress room in the state Assembly, Ms Banerjee said the Congress and a number of other smaller Opposition parties were extending support to the bandh.

''Our bandh is against police torture, barbarism and the fascist activities of the Left Front Government,'' she said after her party MLAs went berserk in the Assembly lobby.

Alleging that police had illegally detained and assaulted her earlier in the day, Ms Banerjee said she was illegally prevented from entering Singur, the site for the Tatas' small car project, about 45 km from the city, picked up in a van and then ''pushed out'' of reaching Kolkata.

''If I was arrested then I should have been produced in court.

But they broke the law by detaining me illegally and even beating me up inside the police van,'' she alleged.

Ms Banerjee had gone to Singur to hold a meeting in protest against the acquisition of farm land for the Tatas' project and then participate in a procession from Kamarkundu in Hooghly district.

A furious Ms Banerjee drove straight to the state Assembly and started a dharna in the lobby protesting the ''high-handed'' action of police.

The Trinamool Congress members, who were participating in the proceedings for a no confidence motion against the Government, came rushing out of the House and started breaking furniture and glass panes and tearing Assembly documents.

In the rampage, a CPI(M) MLA was seriously wounded, while two security persons and as many media photographers received injuries.

The Speaker adjourned the House till December 4 and ordered to keep open the Assembly for two days to enable the people to see the kind of ''vandalism'' perpetrated by a section of members.

While Congress Legislature Party Leader Manas Bhunia described the incident as ''unfortunate'', Pradesh Congress Working president Pradip Bhattacharjee said the party was extending ''moral support'' to the bandh in protest against ''assault of Mamata'' as well as the ''police torture'' on peasant women at Singur on September 25.

Incidentally, this would be the second bandh called by the Trinamool after October 9.

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