“Nabanna Abhijan” of Paschimbanga Chhatra Samaj, floated by the RSS only a week back of the proposed rally on August 27, has caused more damage to the BJP than promoting the cause of the saffron ecosystem. The Chhatra Samaj, the offspring of RSS officially got exposed just a day ahead of the rally at a press meet organised by it in Kolkata Press Club.

RSS leaders known to be good strategists could not realize that their façade of students’ agitation for seeking justice to the victim girl medic would prove to be counterproductive and further strengthen the grip of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on the politics of state and help her ride over the crisis affecting her party. Just after floating of the Samaj, an impression was gaining ground in the political circle that a Bangladesh type situation was fast emerging in Kolkata and with a hostile Narendra Modi ministry at the Centre, she may be forced to resign. Nevertheless, she managed to deflect the attack and diverted the attack against the BJP and the RSS.

The gruesome rape and murder of the girl medic at the R G Kar medical College not only angered the women in general but also led to resentment and introspection in Trinamool Congress circles. The question was raised whether the government machinery acted properly to deal with the situation, from August 10 till August 26, the mass anger and the fury of the protestors were at peak point but the participation of BJP diverted the movement towards the direction of BJP’s political objective. This divided the movement.

The factional feud in the BJP has surfaced in a major way, with faction leaders, Subhendu Adhikari representing the turncoats and Sukanta Majumdar, the state president symbolizing the aspiration of the RSS loyalists and old timers, indulging in finding fault.

Adhikari for taking credit of the rally ensured that other than the saffron cadres should participate in large numbers, bur Majumdar was in favour of precisely following the RSS guideline. RSS leaders were aware of the fact that Samaj would not succeed in mobilising large number of students. Under its design protest would be spread across the city and focus would be in the areas which are frequented by academics, intellectuals and social activists. Adhikari had in fact issued orders for his own supporters to participate.

Kolkata and Howrah witnessed large-scale violence on Tuesday. Probably taking a cue from the Kashmir protesters of yesteryears, the RSS protestors took to pelting stones and glass bottles which hurt at least 15 personnel from Kolkata Police and 14 from the state police. The pictures of the protesters carried by the local newspapers make it amply clear that they are habitual street fighters and are certainly not students. A section of media as usual eulogised condemned the police for using water canons and firing tear gas shells.

The Kolkata police behaved with restraint as the BJP-RSS plan was somehow to provoke police to resort to firing. The police could avert that. After demonstrators "dragged away police barricades," the authorities resorted to lathicharge and the use of tear gas shells to regain control. As the BJP protestors were working on the mission to repeat Bangladesh, police had taken the preemptive measures. Though the BJP leaders actively participated and even led the rally at many places inside the twin cities, they did not come out with the figures of injured saffron cadres.

However Adhikari put the count of injured protesters at 133, which included 17 women. While the rally was organised for seeking justice to girl medic, the agitators however had one agenda; Mamata Banerjee’s resignation was the single point of their “fight for justice”. Some went on to say that the protest was against Mamata’s “appeasement of Muslims”.

The factional feud between Adhikari and traditional BJP leaders made Adhikari to mobilise his own cadre force. Under a planned strategy, RSS had refrained from bringing its own student body ABVP to the front. True enough the rally did not have significant participation of students. That is why the BJP and workers had to be summoned to add muscle to the protests.

It is not at all a secret that RSS and BJP have been using the rape as a political and judicial tool against Mamata. For them the victim medic has been a means to achieve its mission. The CPI(M) which played an important role in organizing protests seeking justice for the murdered medico, did not support the BJP’s 12 hour bandh of Wednesday. The CPI(M) and other left parties have decided to continue their own protests separately.

The irony of the situation is that the saffron ecosystem is not willing to accept the findings and observations of the CBI, which was directed to investigate the sordid incident by the Calcutta High Court and then by the Supreme Court. Even after a fortnight of taking over the investigation, the CBI has not named any other second person as the perpetrator of the crime. It also carried out polygraph of six people, including the prime accused. The BJP IT cell and a section of social media are constantly spreading false information about the R G Kar case. The situation reached such a state that even the Supreme Court judges rebuked the CBI counsel for quoting a fake social media report.

The BJP’s plot to impose President rule in Bengal by unseating the Mamata government through misdirecting the mass upsurge in favour of speedy justice for the murdered medic , has failed. The BJP has been isolated finally. The striking RG Kar college junior doctors have declared that they have nothing to do with Bangla Bandh programme of BJP, they will continue their own movement. The participants of the August 14 night demonstration by women have also dissociated themselves from the political goal of the BJP.. But still the Party leaders are likely to continue the movement to get some political space against Trinamool Congress in the state politics. (IPA Service)