Youth Cong protests against desecration of B C Roy's bust

Youth Congress activists on Monday staged a protest outside Raj Bhavan against the desecration of a bust of party veteran and former West Bengal chief minister Bidhan Chandra Roy in East Burdwan district. With posters and placards in hand, the activists raised slogans against the BJP, claiming that the party was behind the "heinous act" on Sunday.

In a veiled attack, the TMC leadership had also blamed the saffron party for the rise in incidents of violence. Ashutosh Chatterjee, the president of Chatra Parishad (Congress youth wing), slammed the BJP leadership, claiming that the party "harbours criminals and disrespects noted leaders and eminent Bengalis".

The activists dispersed following police intervention. Roy, the second chief minister of West Bengal, has been widely credited for modernisation of the state after Independence.

Sunday's bust vandalisation in East Burdwan led to a slugfest between the ruling TMC and the BJP. Describing the act of vandalism as "unfortunate", Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said such incidents have been on the rise in West Bengal after the saffron party came into prominence.

Denying the allegations, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh asserted that his party was above "such petty acts", and demanded a probe into the incident. The incident brought back memories of desecration of polymath Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's bust at a Kolkata college, during a roadshow of BJP president Amit Shah earlier this year..