West Bengal: BJP leaders Kailash Vijaywargiya, Mukul Roy released after 5 hours of detention

BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijaywargiya and National Executive Committee member Mukul Roy were detained by Police on Friday during ‘Abhinandan Yatra’ or pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizenship (NPR) rally. The two leaders were detained along with others BJP supporters at Tollygunge circular road, close to where the rally began in the afternoon and was to end at Hazra, both in South Kolkata.

Police detained the two leaders soon after the rally began, despite the leaders attempting to speak to the Police about holding a peaceful rally. The Police had not officially given permission to hold the rally, though the BJP says they had submitted the letter to the Police days in advance.

Kailash Vijaywargiya tweeted while being in the lock up at Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar. “Now we are in the Kolkata Police lockup for attempting to do a rally on CAA. Mukul Roy is there along with me. This is the historic lockup where freedom fighters like Jatin Das and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose were there.”

The BJP had expected the leaders to be released by 6:30pm. The BJP will use this issue to intensify their stand against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not allowing rallies in the state, at a time when her party the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been holding anti-CAA, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) protests.

They were released at 8.30 pm.

The TMC has been one of the first few parties that has been vocal against the issue, joining the chorus of nationwide protests by political parties, social groups and students. The BJP is also hitting out at Mamata who is the State Home Minister after the Police did not give permission for the pro-CAA rally and inturn detained the two BJP leaders and supporters.