Coming events cast their shadows before, so goes the saying, and hurling of shoes at the vehicle of BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya is indicative of the days ahead in West Bengal. As the state moves towards the legislative assembly elections, scheduled in the next four or five months, such incidents may get reported more often.
According to some reports, Vijayvargiya received minor injuries in the attack carried out by Trinamool Congress workers. Vijayvargiya, Mukul Roy and Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh were participating in a BJP roadshow when they were attacked from a makeshift stage in Watgang area on Monday.
Vijayvargiya said the BJP workers showed restraint and the roadshow was conducted peacefully, despite grave provocation. “Some TMC workers hurled shoes and stones at us. We will not respond to violence with violence,” he said.
The roadshow was scheduled from Orphanganj Road to the BJP headquarters in Kolkata. The roadshow was then cut short as police intervened. They had a tough time in pacifying the workers of two rival parties and could barely avoid clashes.
Initially, the police refused permission for the roadshow but gave permission later and asked it to follow a route different from the one the BJP had proposed. The BJP leaders had declared that they will take out the roadshow despite denial of permission. They had argued that the state police routinely denied permission to the BJP for any public functions.
In a similar incident Vijayvargiya was accompanying BJP chief J P Nadda when their convoy was attacked. Nadda had said later that he was saved as he had a bullet proof car at the time of the attack. Windscreens of several vehicles in the convoy were broken and some people had received minor injuries.
