Suvendu Adhikari ascribes Kolkata violence to ‘foreign fundamentalist forces’
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attributed recent violent protests in Kolkata to Islamic fundamentalists and potential foreign interference. The government has invoked the Goonda Act against the accused, marking the first use of the new law.
Why it matters
The use of the Goonda Act and the political framing of protests as foreign-backed threats signal a significant shift in state-level law enforcement and political rhetoric.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday (July 26, 2026) claimed that Islamic fundamentalists, possibly with the backing of foreign forces, had perpetrated the violence during protests in Kolkata on Friday (July 24, 2026).
Protests against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) question paper leak in Kolkata turned violent on Friday as protesters clashed with the police, prompting security forces to baton charge and fire tear gas shells to disperse the agitators.
The police have arrested 14 persons in connection with the violence. They were produced before a city court on Sunday. The accused were produced before a city court which remanded them to two days in police custody. The counsel for the accused asked why people had been arrested in Kolkata while no cases were being registered against protesters across the country.
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