Suvendu slams Bengal police as ‘TMC's puppet’ during BJP’s Uttarkanya Abhiyan

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched its ‘Uttarkanya Abhiyan’ from Siliguri in North Bengal, led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. The rally began from Teenbatti More and moved towards Chunabhati More, covering a stretch of around 2.5 kilometres. The campaign was held under a heavy police presence, following conditions set by the Calcutta High Court, which had permitted the rally after state authorities had earlier denied permission.

Suvendu Adhikari addressed participants before the march, stating that BJP’s tradition has always been of peaceful protest. He said, “Bengal’s police no longer serve the people but have become puppets of the Trinamool.” The rally witnessed the participation of several BJP MPs and MLAs alongside workers from the BJP Yuva Morcha, the party’s youth wing, which organised the march.

The Calcutta High Court granted conditional approval for the rally, allowing a maximum of 10,000 participants. The court directed that the march would conclude at a designated football ground after reaching Chunabhati More. BJP workers, including large numbers of youth, assembled with party flags and banners in accordance with the court’s order. Security forces were deployed at multiple checkpoints to ensure crowd management and route control.

BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya had released a campaign theme song two days before the event. This rally coincided with the Trinamool Congress’ Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, without directly naming BJP, said on Sunday, “Whenever we organise a programme, they hold a parallel one. But we don’t organise parallel events to theirs.”

Earlier, Suvendu Adhikari had commented that on July 21, “Trinamool will eat egg curry and rice, we will march to Uttarkanya.” He had appealed to BJP workers to bear their own expenses and participate in the campaign with strength. The rally marks the BJP’s continued focus on North Bengal amid its ongoing political outreach in the region.