"Ma Durga's Grace Helped Me": BJP Chief JP Nadda On Attack In Bengal

BJP president JP Nadda’s convoy was attacked with bricks and stones near Kolkata this afternoon and many cars were damaged. BJP leaders were also injured in the attack, the party alleged, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of serious lapses in security. Home Minister Amit Shah has asked for a report on what he called “sponsored violence” and said Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress would have to answer to people of the state.

A dramatic video shared online shows a car, said to be part of the BJP chief’s convoy, being attacked with bricks and the windscreen and windows shattering. “If I have reached here for the meeting, it’s due to Ma Durga’s grace,” said Mr Nadda. The BJP has launched protests across the state.

The Trinamool, however, accused the BJP of “intentional provocation” and attempting to stir trouble and malign the state government in the run-up to polls next year.

The BJP leaders were travelling to Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas near Kolkata when the attack took place around 12 noon. Diamond Harbour is the parliamentary constituency of Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Some BJP workers on motorcycles were attacked with sticks. Several media vehicles were also hit with stones. Reports suggest the attack was the result of the BJP convoy passing an area at the same time as a Trinamool rally.

“Mukul Roy and Kailash Vijayvargiya were injured in the attack. It is a shame on democracy. There isn’t a car in our convoy which was not attacked. I am safe because I was travelling in a bulletproof car. This state of lawlessness and intolerance in West Bengal has to end,” Mr Nadda told reporters.

Kailash Vijayvargiya, showing bruises on his arm, said: “I have been injured in this attack. In the presence of police, goons attacked us. It felt as if we were not in our own country.”