Bulldozers can’t be govt language: Mamata Banerjee; 10 cops injured as protest turns violent

KOLKATA: Former CM Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday that “bulldozers cannot become the language of governance” in her first public statement after Trinamool’s election defeat.“Bulldozers cannot become the language of governance in a state built on culture, compassion and resistance to oppression. A govt that demolishes first and listens later has forgotten the very spirit of Bengal," Banerjee said in a post on X.Targeting what she called the human cost of the new govt’s early actions, she said: “What we are witnessing is an attack on the dignity of daily wage workers, street vendors, small shopkeepers and struggling families.”“The massive eviction drive around Howrah station, the unrest in Tiljala and Park Circus, and the growing desperation among those stripped of shelter and livelihood expose a govt more obsessed with optics than humanity. The landof Tagore and Netaji cannot be ruled through fear, force and demolition drives,” she added.Since the electoral defeat, Banerjee has held a series of closed-door meetings with her social media teams, MPs, defeated candidates, legal team members and, on Sunday, zilla parishad office-bearers.She has also appeared in the Calcutta High Court to legally represent displaced party workers, and told workers unwilling to stay in the party “to go” — saying those who remain are the “pure gold” she is looking for.Trinamool has dispatched fact-finding teams across districts to probe the reasons behind its defeat and to support workers allegedly targeted by BJP.10 cops injuredTen Bengal police and CAPF personnel were wounded, while 21 people were arrested and 25 detained after clashes erupted Sunday at a Park Circus traffic junction in central-south Kolkata during a protest against “bulldozer action” in nearby Tiljala.Police said protesters hurled stones and bricks at security forces and damaged at least three police vehicles after a crowd gathered around 1.30pm at Park Circus sevenpoint crossing following a social media call for demonstrations against demolition of two allegedly illegal buildings in Tiljala, a neighbourhood adjoining Topsia. One of those buildings caught fire last Tuesday, killing three people.Police called the gathering unauthorised and said trouble began when protesters tried to block roads connecting Park Circus, Topsia and EM Bypass-bound stretches. Clashes escalated after forces moved to disperse the crowd.ACP (south-east) Chitadeep Pandey, his security guard and OC Rajesh Singh suffered critical wounds and were taken to hospital, police said.Bricks and broken concrete littered the stretch late into evening as police and CAPF personnel carried out flag marches and searches across adjoining lanes. “Roadblocks were put up to prevent us from entering lanes. We are not ruling out a conspiracy,” a police officer said.