Kolkata: Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose assured women in Sandeshkhali that he would do “whatever is required to protect their honour and security. All the women here are my rakhi sisters,” Bose said at Trimani Bazar in Sandeshkhali after women there tied rakhis on the governor.
CM Mamata Banerjee, meanwhile, said those against whom there was anger and those who had fomented trouble in Sandeshkhali had been arrested. Three villagers - Sanjoy Mondal, Pradip Mondal and Saikat Das - arrested for alleged involvement in arson were granted bail by a Basirhat court in the evening. Suspended Trinamool politician Uttam Sardar was also released on bail. Referring to governor's visit to Sandeshkhali, Banerjee said: “Anyone can go anywhere they want. I have also sent the women’s commission.”
In Kolkata, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari and five other BJP MLAs were suspended for the remainder of the state assembly budget session for “unruly and disorderly behaviour” in the House during protests over the clashes in Sandeshkhali.
Later, an Adhikari-led team of 67 BJP MLAs was stopped by police on Basanti Highway at Topsia, 65 km from Sandeshkhali. The defiant MLAs stayed put in the bus for over two hours as a large police contingent encircled the area. BJP is likely to move Calcutta high court seeking permission to visit the Sandeshkhali victims.
In Sandeshkhali, hundreds of women sat at Trimani Bazar to narrate their woes to Bose. They demanded the arrest of Trinamool politicians Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra.