NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday joined party workers in a protest outside the Kalighat residence of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee after an alleged attack on his house and office in the early hours of the day, triggering clashes in south Kolkata ahead of Kali Puja and Diwali.Abhishek alleged that a group of people he described as “BJP goons” targeted his residence and office around 2am after conducting reconnaissance for two days.He claimed it was the “seventh attempt on his life” in the past six months and accused the Kolkata Police and judiciary of failing to act.According to police and party accounts, clashes broke out between TMC workers, who had gathered to celebrate Abhishek’s 39th birthday, and BJP supporters between 2am and 3.30 am. At least eight people were reportedly injured, three of them seriously. Police deployed a large contingent in the area and detained several people in connection with the clashes.Mamata reached her nephew’s residence later in the morning and accused the BJP of “hooliganism”, alleging that a “gang of thugs” had disrupted traditional Kali Puja preparations in the locality. She also questioned restrictions on local celebrations and alleged that permissions for traditional pujas had been revoked while a new one was allowed on the main road.“Tomorrow is Kali Puja and Diwali. Last night, at 2am, an attack was carried out at Abhishek Banerjee’s house. This is our locality, a route through which many processions of Goddess Kali pass. Why are you causing such a disturbance?” she said.“There is complete hooliganism going on. People show up here at 2 or 3 in the morning… If you dare to use a bulldozer, why do you come here at 3 in the morning with a gang of thugs to attack a Kali Puja celebration?” she added.“This is completely illegal. Look at the club in our area; they wouldn’t let us carry on with our activities all night long. Look at the ‘puja’ that has been set up right on the main road; it was granted illegal permission. A ‘puja’ was never held there before; it used to take place inside. Yesterday evening, around 9:00 PM, they placed it right at the road bend, effectively blocking access to our own ‘puja’. What is this? This is pure high-handedness and oppression.
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You want to bring in bulldozers? Go ahead -run your bulldozers over us, over our very bodies,” news agency ANI quoted her as saying.The TMC chief said she had written to the Lok Sabha Speaker over what she described as a breakdown of law and order. Meanwhile, party workers raised slogans against the police outside Abhishek’s residence, expressing anger over the incident.