West Bengal / Protesters bring sheep outside WB Raj Bhavan; Guv seeks explanation from police

Kolkata: A day after a man herded a flock of sheep in a unique protest to Raj Bhawan in West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar took serious note of it and shot off a letter to the city police chief and demanded an explanation by 5 PM.

“State of law and order even at the main entry gate of Raj Bhawan worrisome with stance of police leaving all to be desired and all this when the area is subject to prohibitory orders,” Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar tweeted, tagging Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata Police.

On the other hand, TMC activists had held demonstrations across the state on Monday in protest against the arrest of ministers Firhad Hakim, Subrata Mukherjee and TMC MLA Madan Mitra by the CBI in connection with its probe into the Narada sting tapes case.

“It was noticed by me that the security of the Raj Bhawan premises was breached with impunity near its North Gate by certain unruly elements in front of a huge posse of policemen from Kolkata Police. The so-called demonstration by these lumpen elements continued unabated in the presence of a huge police contingent for over two hours,” Dhankhar said.

On Tuesday, a social organisation herded a flock of sheep in front of Raj Bhavan in Kolkata in an unusual protest against the alleged lack of concern by those occupying high posts about the worsening coronavirus situation in West Bengal.

A spokesperson of the Kolkata Nagarik Mancha accompanied shepherds who took the animals near the North Gate of the Governor House.

They remained there for around 5-7 minutes before policemen, who were initially bewildered, drove the agitators and the sheep away from the high-security area. Incidentally, Tuesday was the birthday of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The Mancha spokesperson said that the organisation resorted to such a mode of protest as gathering of people is not allowed during the pandemic and prohibitory orders are in force in the area.

“There is oxygen scarcity in the state, COVID patients are not getting beds, people are dying. But we have not seen him (Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar) coming in support of people reeling under the coronavirus blow,” the spokesperson said.

However, the Kolkata Nagarik Mancha clarified that it has no link with any political party. Reacting to the incident, senior BJP leader Anupam Hazra said, “Such distasteful conduct against the first citizen of the state outside Raj Bhavan only showed Bengal in poor light.”

Ruling Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the party has no idea who were behind this agitation or what prompted them to resort to such an act.

“We will ask everyone to exercise restraint and keep cool and not do anything which will violate coronavirus safety guidelines,” Ghosh said.