KOLKATA : Rallying against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the State, CPI(M), 17 other Left organisations and students’ unions are holding massive demonstrations in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal. Thousands from varied walks of life gathered Sunday morning, shouting slogans and raising placards, at different squares in Kolkata.
A rally of this proportion, raising national demands to a Prime Minister, is the largest-ever to happen in Bengal’s history. Protesters held posters, placards and banners saying : Go Back Modi and No NRC, while some waved the national flag along marches. Several demonstrators have been lingering in the streets with ‘Go Back Modi ‘ placards as early as Friday.
The airport, VIP Road, Jadavpur, Golpark, Race Course and Nandaan Komplex became focal points where protesters gathered in thousands. The rallies brought traffic to standstill at several places. Groups led by CPI(M) member Muhamad Salim formed human chain, picketing roads in Espanade. Police barricaded oncoming rally at several places, to which demonstrators retaliated linking hands to form chains.
Students at Jadhavpur and Presidency University gave up the day’s classes to participate in the protests, since Saturday. Teaching and other employees from these varsities too joined in. Modi is expected to to attend a host of programmes in his 2-day-visit to the State. Hence the protesters are set to stay put all through Sunday.
