Kolkata: Tension erupted in central Kolkata’s bustling New Market area on Tuesday night when a group of people allegedly demolished a Trinamool Congress (TMC) union office with bulldozers near the historic Hogg Market, prompting traders to shut shops and flee in panic.
Initial reports indicate the TMC’s New Market union office — described by locals as an illegal structure built on forcibly occupied shop space — was razed, with visuals of the chaos spreading rapidly online. Police rushed to the scene, intensifying patrols to restore calm amid Kolkata’s busiest commercial hub, as reported by India Today.
The incident unfolded against a backdrop of heightened political friction following recent West Bengal election results. TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Derek O’Brien swiftly condemned it on X.
Moitra posted a video, sarcastically captioning: “Kolkata’s historic New Market. Bengalis revelling in Parivartan,” invoking the BJP’s campaign slogan.
O’Brien alleged official complicity: “In central Kolkata, near New Market. With police permission. As part of the victory celebrations, a bulldozer was brought in to demolish meat shops. CAPF standing around. The BJP for you. Let the world see these pictures.”
On Wednesday, TMC accused BJP supporters of orchestrating the vandalism as ““brazen hooliganism and gundagardi”, targeting shops and the party office. The party blamed senior BJP leaders like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for enabling it, claiming central forces were told to stand down — a charge yet to be verified independently. TMC framed it as “bulldozer politics” and vowed resistance.
Local residents and traders countered that the demolition addressed an unauthorized occupation, urging calm.
Police have not issued a detailed statement, and investigations are on.
