Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
BJP leader Locket Chatterjee on Sunday claimed that a Ram Navami rally led by her in New Town was stopped by the police, prompting a change of route of the procession.
Chatterjee was also seen engaging in a verbal spat with police personnel after the rally was "halted" near Keshtopur in the city’s northern fringes.
Police sources said barricades were set up at the Keshtopur crossing adjacent to the airport-connecting VIP Road, after the procession tried to enter Salt Lake.
“This is not a political rally. It’s a spiritual congregation where people have participated spontaneously. How can the police stop this rally, which has the necessary permissions?” Chatterjee said.
The former MP later walked past the barricades and urged the rally participants to take an alternative route to avoid further confrontation.
She was seen riding a two-wheeler at the start of the rally from a Ram Temple in New Town, and was joined by party leader Arjun Singh at its initial stage.
The procession is scheduled to culminate at the Hanuman Mandir in Dum Dum.
ABVP organises Ram Navami celebrations inside JU campus
In the other corner of Kolkata, students owing allegiance to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised Ram Navami celebrations inside the Jadavpur University campus on Sunday, despite the authorities not granting permission for it.
The students placed a clay idol of Lord Ram on a makeshift podium inside the campus for puja, a video of which went viral on social media. Jadavpur University authorities had on Friday turned down the request of the RSS-affiliated students' organisation to organise Ram Navami celebrations on the campus.
They had said the decision was taken considering "several factors", including a previous clash between ABVP and Left-leaning students during the celebration of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple consecration in January 2024, and that Ram Navami has never been celebrated on the campus before.
The ABVP, however, had vowed to celebrate Ram Navami on the varsity campus on Sunday.
The premier university in Kolkata has been witness to several incidents of unrest in recent times, including violent protests by a section of Left-leaning students during a visit by state Education Minister Bratya Basu.
