However, today’s Left-led protest march to Nabanna, the Bengal secretariat, has all the indication of going down as blot in the history of the Trinamool government’s reign not simply because it has crossed the line – quite literally as barricades were broken during clashes with the police – into violence, but also because it has brought to the fore the crucial issue that has plagued Bengal for decades. One which has determined how the masses vote in the next elections – the way the police handle situations of crisis. As the dawn of May 22 broke, across the Hoogly river from the city of Calcutta, the secretariat building resembled a semi-fortress with layers of police barricading its main entrance as well as all the side gates. It was obviously an attempt to ensure that the Left leaders and activists would not be able to access the premises during what was a planned demonstration.