Cong’s split wide open as scuffles mar law violation

However,a group of party workers,led by south Kolkata district Congress chief Mala Roy said they will go ahead with the law violation programme.

Even as Bhattacharya continued to urge the party workers to gather in front of the dias from where he was addressing them,a group continued to move towards the police barricade,raising slogans of “Mala Roy Zindabad”.

“There should be some action now. We have had enough verbal duels. Many of those on the stage would be joining Trinamool Congress soon,” said a supporter of Roy.

This led to a heated argument between Roy’s supporters and other party workers who later started pushing each other right in front of the dais even as party MLA Manoj Chakraborty was in the middle of his speech.

Mala Roy,who was the next speaker,made no bones about it when she said,“For how much longer do we need to endure the atrocities and resort to verbal protests? There is a need for some agitation now. If that doesn’t happen,no one will remain (with the party) with this kind of silent protest.”

The PCC chief,later,tried to downplay the incident saying that it was his fault. “I had told all the district and zonal heads that after the rally there will be a law violation programme. When people turned out in huge numbers,police said that they did not have enough vehicles to arrest and take them to jail. Instead,they said,they would arrest the party workers in front of a judicial magistrate and release them. We did not agree to it and decided to take the agitation to the district level,” he said.

He,however,added that there had been no miscommunication at all. He said that all the Congress zonal heads will continue with law violations at their level,and “in the last week of December. “I will lead a march to Nabanna. We will violate law there.”