West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said her government has given the go ahead for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah’s helicopter to land and take off from Malda.
Shah is due to address the first of his public rallies on Tuesday as the BJP kicks off its campaign in West Bengal for the national polls this summer. “The police have given their approval for the helicopter. Misinformation is being spread deliberately on the issue. We are not like the BJP,” she said.
State BJP leaders had earlier said Malda’s additional district magistrate had written to party’s district unit general secretary, Gopal Chandra Saha, saying the Malda airport was unsafe for landing of any VVIP helicopter. Airport was reported to have been undergoing upgradation.
BJP Bengal unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said they have now been informed that the helicopter will land at a Border Security Force owned ground.
Shah, who was discharged from a hospital on January 19 after undergoing treatment for swine flu, will address three rallies in Malda on January 22, and Jhargram and Suri on January 23. The Supreme Court had earlier refused the BJP permission for a rath yatra across state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.
{{/usCountry}}Shah, who was discharged from a hospital on January 19 after undergoing treatment for swine flu, will address three rallies in Malda on January 22, and Jhargram and Suri on January 23. The Supreme Court had earlier refused the BJP permission for a rath yatra across state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.
{{/usCountry}}Local BJP leaders said they worried about Shah’s proposed meeting on Wednesday after ruling TMC functionary Anubrata Mondal said someone may pour water at the rally venue. “In April last year..., Trinamool Congress supporters pumped water into a rally ground where [BJP leader] Mukul Roy was supposed to speak...”, said Ramkrishna Roy, a local BJP functionary.