'Nabanna Abhijan' rally will be peaceful, says organiser Chhatra Samaj

Kolkata: Amid claims by the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal Police of potential disruptions, student organisation Chhatra Samaj insisted that their August 27 'Nabanna Abhijan' rally will be peaceful and focused on demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the arrest of those responsible for the rape-murder of a doctor in R G Kar hospital.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Chhatra Samaj spokesperson Sayan Lahiri said, "The claims made by the TMC and police are baseless. We aim to raise our demands peacefully. If we are stopped, we will attempt to proceed to the state secretariat, Nabanna, gate in a non-violent manner to demand the CM's resignation due to her failure to prevent incidents like the RG Kar case, which has shocked the nation." Lahiri clarified that the rallies, which will start from College Square, Fort William, and Santragachhi at noon and move towards Nabanna, is organised by an apolitical platform with no affiliations to the BJP, RSS, or ABVP.

He noted, "We have informed police about the rally via email and discussed it with senior officers multiple times. The allegations that our rally is illegal are untrue." Regarding the expected turnout, Lahiri admitted, "Since the movement was organised through a social media campaign, we cannot provide an exact estimate. However, we have urged everyone to maintain peace." Earlier in the day, police termed the proposed rally as "illegal" and said they have taken necessary precautionary measures due to concerns about potential law and order issues during the march.

Talking to reporters, West Bengal additional director general and inspector-general of police (law and order) Manoj Verma said no individual or organisation has sought permission to hold such a rally to the state secretariat, which is a restricted area.