Narendra Modi in West Bengal: Left-affiliated students protest against Mamata Banerjee meeting PM, say will dilute fight against CAA

Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday faced protests by Left students for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and allegedly “diluting the fight against CAA”. The Left students were protesting against her meeting Modi at the Raj Bhavan and sharing the stage with him at a function later in the evening on the first day of his two-day visit to the state. They lanched a dharna at the Dorina Crossing at Esplanade and said it would continue as long as Modi is in the state. [caption id=“attachment_6604641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] Members of SFI, AISA, IC of Presidency University students unions chanting ‘Azadi’ and ‘Shame Shame’ broke three barricades put up near the stage of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad’s (TMCP) sit-in at Rani Rashmoni Avenue, not far from the Raj Bhavan, and demanded explanation from Banerjee as she rushed from a programme attended by Modi to the venue. They wanted to know why Banerjee met Modi, who, they said, is behind the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and “diluted the fight” against it. “We were heading towards the Raj Bhavan. But we were prevented from doing so by the police near TMCP’s dharna site on nearby Rani Rashmoni Avenue. When Banerjee arrived, we demanded an explanation from her,” Subho Biswas, a student of Presidency University, claimed. An SFI leader Tapas Das said the protests would go on as long as Modi was in the city on Sunday. “We demanded an explanation from Mamata Banerjee about her meeting Modi at the Raj Bhavan and sharing the stage at an official programme … There is a secret understanding between Mamata Banerjee and Modi. She has been exposed. We will sit on dharna at the Esplanade crossing till Modi leaves the city tomorrow,” he said. Banerjee, who was seen arguing with Left students, sought to clarify her stand and said it was her “constitutional obligation to meet the Prime Minister”. “I am the only leader who met Narendra Modi and told him that the CAA, NRC and NPR cannot be implemented. We have been protesting from day one against CAA. The issue before both of us (TMCP and Left students’ unions) is the same, so please do not deviate from it. I request you all to protest in a democratic way. We should fight the anti-CAA battle together. We are fighting on the same issue,” she told the Left students unions. She also asked the TMCP students, who were separated by a barricade put up by police, to remain calm and not retaliate. Banerjee was seen sitting on the dais surrounded by security guards and TMCP students raised counter slogans chanting ‘Bande Mataram’ and ‘Down with BJP and its cohorts’. A senior Kolkata Police officer said Banerjee is still present at the sit-in venue and officers and extra policemen are present there. “We are alert,” he added.