Mamata 'attacked' in Varanasi, TMCP stages protest

KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) student wing Thursday held protests in Kolkata and other parts of Bengal against showing of black flags and alleged attack on party chairperson Mamata Banerjee allegedly by BJP supporters and a right-wing outfit in Varanasi on Wednesday.

The protesters of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad gathered in front of Presidency University many of them holding bowls of Ganga water before embarking on a march.

Banerjee, after reaching Varanasi from Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon, was on her way to the famous Dasaswamedh Ghat in the holy city to watch 'Ganga Aarti' when some people, alleged to be members of right-wing outfit Hindu Yuva Bahini, showed her black flags and chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan.

"Mamata Banerjee was on a non-political programme when she was subjected to insults and was attacked," TMCP state president Trinankur Bhattacharya told reporters.

Banerjee, who is in Uttar Pradesh to campaign for Samajwadi Party for the Varanasi seat going to the poll in the last phase of Assembly poll in that state on March 7, had in reply said 'Jai Hind' after alighting from her vehicle, he said.

"If a chief minister cannot be given proper security in the (Lok Sabha) constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then we can well understand the situation in other parts of the country under BJP rule ... This is an insult to a woman," Bhattacharya said.

The Trinamool Chhatra Parishad organised protest marches in various districts of the state against the incident.