The Trinamul Congress’ women cell on Friday began a 48-hour sit-in demonstration at Rani Rashmoni Avenue to protest against the BJP’s central leadership’s effort to have 77,000 booths in the state declared “Super sensitive”.

The Trinamul Congress’s fielding of its women cell led by the Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya came on the heels of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making a blistering attack on the BJP claiming the party is out to tarnish the state’s image and trying to denigrate a peaceful state like Bengal.

Bhattacharya said, “We are observing for some time that the BJP leadership is trying to belittle the state. A party which has no base in the state is out to malign the state. We saw that a few days back the BJP central leadership led by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had in a delegation to the EC demanded to declare all the 77,000 booths in the state as super sensitive. Being a law minister he should know best what could be the basis for such a demand. By making such a demand he had denigrated the state and tried to make it look that everybody is locked in clashes. This is nothing but an attempt to malign the state but it will not work.”

The BJP and its leaders are living in a fool’s paradise, she said.

They can deploy one paramilitary jawan for every voter and “we will still win the elections”, Bhattacharya said.

“The law and order situation is fine in Bengal. Despite this, the BJP is demanding that the state be declared super sensitive,” Bhattacharya said.

“Is it not an insult to the people of West Bengal? We will protest against any attempt to malign our state,” Bhattacharya said.

Holding placards and posters against the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TMC activists shouted slogans against the Centre.

SUCI protest against liquor licences:

SUCI (C) on Friday took out a protest rally against issuing of new liquor licences by the state government. The rally started from Sealdah and reached the excise directorate in Bowbazar where the protesters demonstrated against the liquor policy of the state. They also demanded a complete ban on the sale of liquor and a crackdown on the sale of illegal and spurious liquor. A minor scuffle broke out when the party activists and protesters were stopped by police near Central Avenue.

“In the past few years, the liquor shops have mushroomed across the state and sale of hooch has increased. While states like Bihar and Mizoram have banned the sale of liquor, the Bengal government has issued more new licences to liquor shops. It has destroyed many families and women are the worst sufferers,” said Subrata Gouri, Kolkata district secretary of SUCI, who led the protest march. He also added that SUCI (C) would continue the protests in all districts and strengthen the movement against illicit liquor.

It is worth mentioning that the Supreme Court had earlier prohibited the sale of liquor within 500 metres of the national and state highways.