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Amit Shah lands in Kolkata to take on TMC, Left protesters hit streets
Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata to take part in a series of events, including a public rally from which he will launch the BJP’s campaign seeking an end to what it calls the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government’s misrule in West Bengal.
Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata on Sunday to take part in a series of events, including a public rally from which he will launch the BJP’s campaign seeking an end to what it calls the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government’s misrule in West Bengal.
Demonstrators belonging to Left parties and student organisations hit the streets to protest his visit to the state capital.
While 100,000 BJP supporters are expected to gather for Shah’s public rally in Shahid Minar ground, workers belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other Left organisations protested, alleging Shah was complicit in the recent clashes in New Delhi.
CPI(M) legislator Sujan Chakraborty led a protest rally in Jadavpur area in the southern part of the city and a group of party supporters gathered outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in the northern outskirts of Kolkata to show black flags to Shah.
There were black balloons, too.
Protesters also gathered at Moulali, Entally and Park Circus areas in central Kolkata.
“Amit Shah, who has his hands soaked in the blood in the Delhi clashes, is unwelcome in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, by allowing him to address a rally, has revealed the hidden understanding between the BJP and TMC,” Sujan Chakraborty said.
The BJP’s national secretary Rahul Sinha and state unit general secretary Sayantan Basu have warned protesters against daring to reach near their venue.
“If they try to block roads through which our supporters are coming, we know how to lift blockades. If they try to reach near our venue, we know how to retaliate,” Sinha said.
The police have made elaborate security arrangements, including surveillance using drones, to avoid untoward incidents. Protesters were not allowed to reach the airport gate through which Shah came out. The police have also cordoned off the venue of the BJP’s rally.
Shah will launch his party’s West Bengal campaign, branded as Aar Noy Annay (no more injustices), targeting the Mamata Banerjee regime. BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda is also slated to attend the rally.
“March 1 will mark the beginning of a renaissance in Bengal when Amit Shah launches our Aar Noy Annay campaign, which will eventually go on for six months,” BJP state unit president Dilip Ghosh said.
“We plan to connect with five crore people with this campaign to hold Trinamool Congress accountable for its misrule. We will place a chargesheet against the Mamata Banerjee regime,” Ghosh added.
Incidentally, TMC has not scheduled any event on Sunday.
Shah, after taking part in a government programme, will address the public rally, before offering puja at the famous Kalighat temple and then attend two indoor meetings to devise the BJP’s organisational strategy for Bengal.
The state is heading for the municipal elections in more than 100 civic bodies in April-May and the assembly elections are due next year.
The BJP has emerged as West Bengal’s second-most-powerful party, bagging 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, against 22 won by the TMC.
