TMC and BJP supporters clash in Kolkata hours before PM Modi’s rally

New Delhi: Clashes broke out between supporters of the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday near Girish Park in central Kolkata, about 5 km from the Brigade Parade Ground, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a rally later in the day. A policeman and a BJP leader were injured in the violence, officials said.The confrontation, which took place just half an hour before Modi’s rally, marked the culmination of the BJP’s state-wide “Parivartan Yatra” ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections.

Amid the violence, there were also allegations of stone-pelting at the residence of West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja in the Girish Park area.According to witnesses, supporters of the two parties threw stones at each other and shouted slogans during the clashes.BJP supporters claimed that the attack started when they went to a rally venue and raised slogans in support of the prime minister.

“They pelted stones at us without any provocation. They also abused us,” a BJP activist told a Bengali news channel.The BJP claimed that several vehicles were damaged in the clashes.Local TMC workers denied the allegation and said the BJP supporters first hurled abuses and started throwing stones. They also claimed that stones were pelted at the residence of a local TMC leader during the incident.A large number of police officers rushed to the scene and took control of the situation.During his visit to West Bengal, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of development projects worth over Rs 18,000 crore.