Row Over Hathras Gang-rap: WB CM to Lead Protest March

In order to up its ante against the Uttar Pradesh government, the West Bengal Chief Minister and the Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee, has assured that she would lead a protest march against the Hathras case today evening in Kolkata. 

Internal sources said, the party supremo, Mamata Banerjee, and other senior leaders of the party will begin their march from Birla Planetarium and culminate at the Mahatma Gandhi statue. The march is scheduled to be held at 4 pm. Earlier on Friday, a four-member delegation comprising Trinamool Congress leaders were stopped by the Uttar Pradesh administration denying them from meeting the victim’s family at Hathras. The authorities of Uttar Pradesh Police were seen manhandling Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien. The MP was pushed, shoved and then he fell down suffering minor injuries.

“A  delegation of Trinamool MPs were stopped by Uttar Pradesh Police from entering Hathras. The delegation had traveled about 200kms from Delhi. The Trinamool MPs were on their way to the village in Hathras, traveling separately, to express solidarity with the grieving family and convey their condolences”, said a release from the Trinamool Congress. The delegation comprised MPs Derek O'Brien, Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Pratima Mondal and ex-MP Mamata Thakur.  Another party MP, Pratima Mondal was seen being manhandled by male police officers while preventing them from advancing towards the victim’s house. “We are traveling individually and maintaining all protocols. We are not armed. Why are we stopped? What kind of jungle raj is this that elected MPs are prevented from meeting a grieving family. We were just 1.5 kms from the victims home in Hathras, explaining to police officials that we will walk the 1.5kms to the victims house in Hathras. But we were prevented from advancing”, said Pratima Mondal.