KOLKATA: Those fearing a repetition of Monday's "battle scene" during the Left Front's Nabanna Chalo Abhiyan was pleasantly surprised that SUCI activists, known for violent agitations, held its rally in an unusually peaceful and disciplined manner on Wednesday. As 7,000-plus party supporters headed for Rani Rashmoni Avenue for a meeting — throwing traffic in central Kolkata out of gear — the police seemed to have learnt a lesson from Monday's rampage.Sporting headgear and armed with shields, cops escorted SUCI delegations to Vidhan Sabha as well as Raj Bhavan--according to their demands--and allowed them to hold a meeting at the city centre. Standing at the Esplanade crossing on Wednesday afternoon, TOI charts out some of the noticeable changes in the police stand, in stark contrast to their approach on Monday:Putting away 'weapons'Before the rally started, the Kolkata Police instructed KMC to sweep R R Avenue and pavements clean of bricks, stones and concrete chunks, which were hurled at cops on Monday .All bamboo barricades were replaced with steel guardrails so that protesters could not yank out the bamboo shafts and use them as weapons. Besides, the police made the participants dump their flags and placards at a spot before entering the rally route to ensure they did not use the bamboo sticks, holding up the flags, against cops.The rally was to start at 1.30pm from College Square and head for RR Avenue in Esplanade, but it finally began around 3.15pm. A team of senior cops, headed by level-headed officers, such as assistant commissioner at Central Division Buddhadeb Mukhopadhyay , escorted them to RR Avenue. When they wanted to submit a memorandum to the chief minister--the same demand raised by Left leaders last Monday--the officers had a detailed discussion with party leaders, made appointments and allowed two groups to meet minister Partha Chatterjee at Vidhan Sabha and the governor at Raj Bhavan. The team was sent to Chatter jee as Mamata Banerjee was in New Delhi on Wednesday.Owing to the huge turnout, the rallyists took nearly half-an-hour merely to walk from the Dorina crossing to R R Avenue, choking traffic on SN Banerjee Road, CR Avenue and JL Nehru Road. But the police kept a lane open, and in cooperation with procession participants, used the flank to let ambulances and vehicles carrying patients, people with disability and the elderly pass.The police were, however, prepared to tackle any kind of violence: sporting headgear, rows of policemen stood guard with shields, behind aluminium barricades that bore dents from Monday's violence. But few were armed with canes and batons. "We had orders to restrain ourselves and not to give in to provocations," said an officer on Wednesday . Albeit vehicles came to a grinding halt for close to an hour in central Kolkata, the rally passed off peacefully mostly because SUCI members did not resort to any violence on Wednesday . But only time can tell if Kolkata Police and protesters can show similar restraint during other processions--like the BJP one slated for today--which can prevent bloodied clashes.

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