Shah’s rally cancelled in West Bengal, TMC denies any role
   Date :14-May-2019

 
 
 
 
Security personnel close the road leading to the venue of the BJP President Amit Shah’s election rally that was cancelled in West Bengal on Monday. The police had to intervene after an incident of clash between BJP and TMC supporters at the venue.
 
 
 
 
KOLKATA;
 
 
Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Amit Shah’s scheduled rally in Jadavpur was called off on Monday after the West Bengal Government, the BJP claimed, denied him permission to land his chopper and address the public meeting in the Lok Sabha constituency. Accusing the West Bengal Government of “replacing democracy with dictatorship”, the BJP said the Election Commission has become a “mute spectator” to the Trinamool Congress’s alleged undemocratic means to target the party. The TMC, however, rebutted the allegations, claiming the BJP had cancelled the rally fearing a low turnout. “The allegations are completely baseless. We have nothing to do with it.
 
 
They themselves have cancelled the rally as they were afraid that the rally might turn out to be a flop show,” TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said. According to BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the district administration had unnecessarily delayed the permission to land Shah’s chopper claiming that they were yet to get a clearance from the Public Works Department. “The district magistrate has been acting as a party cadre of the TMC.
 
They kept on denying us permission for Shah’s chopper. Later, they also denied us permission to hold the rally. This is not only undemocratic but also shows the TMC’s authoritarian mindset,” Vijayvargiya said. According to Bengal BJP sources, the BJP had planned to go ahead with the Baruipur rally despite the state government’s denial of permission, but the land owner, who had rented out his property for the meeting, withdrew his consent at the last minute. “It was due to pressure from TMC that the owner withdrew his consent,” a state BJP leader said. The party’s media head and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni asserted that he along with other workers and members will hold protests and move the EC against TMC’s “atrocities”.
 
TMC can stop me, but not BJP’s victory: Shah
 
CANNING/BARASAT (WB),
 
BJP President Amit Shah on Monday dared West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to arrest him for chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’, claiming that the TMC supremo can stop him from attending rallies in Bengal but not BJP’s victory march in the State.
 
Addressing a rally at Canning in Joynagar Lok Sabha constituency, he said Banerjee has turned “sonar Bangla (golden Bengal) into kangal (pauper) Bangla”. “Mamata didi gets angry if someone chants ‘Jai Shri Ram’. I am chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ here today, if you (Mamata) have the guts, arrest me. I will be in Kolkata tomorrow.”
 
A video clip showing Banerjee fuming at people for chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in Ghatal Lok Sabha seat went viral on social media recently. Hitting out at the TMC Government for denying him permission to land his chopper at Baruipur in Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat, Shah said, “The Mamata Banerjee Government is visibly perplexed. She wants to stop me from attending rallies. Can you (Banerjee) prevent your defeat this way? “The TMC can stop me from attending rallies but can’t stop the victory march of the BJP in Bengal,” he maintained. Shah’s scheduled rally in Jadavpur was called off on Monday after the state government denied him permission to land his chopper and hold the public address at Baruipur area.