KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday ordered police protection for Congress councillors in Kharagpur even as the party took to the streets in protest against the alleged horse-trading by the ruling Trinamool Congress and announced an indefinite boycott of the state Assembly.
Justice Sambuddha Chakraborty ordered West Midnapore Police chief Bharati Ghosh to provide security to all the 11 Congress councillors elected to the Kharagpur Municipality and take action on the basis of any complaint lodged by them.
The judge also granted interim bail to three Congress councillors against whom criminal cases had been lodged. The Congress councillors moved court as they were allegedly being threatened by the TMC workers ahead of the elections of the Kharagpur Municipal chairman scheduled for Thursday.
The TMC has 11 councillors in the Municipal Council, the BJP seven and the Left 6. The Congress Legislature Party(CLP) wanted a discussion on the issue in the state Assembly, However, the Congress members boycotted the House when Speaker Biman Banerjee refused to grant them permission to raise the matter.
The Congress MLAs staged a demonstration on the Assembly premises raising slogans against the Trinamool Congress.