Amit Shah's rally cancelled in Bengal, TMC denies any role
Kolxata/New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah's scheduled rally in Jadavpur was called off Monday after the West Bengal government, the saffron party 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".
Following the cancellation of the rally, clashes broke out between the workers of the two rival parties in Baruipur. State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said his party workers were thrashed by TMC activists.
"TMC activists had been taunting our party men over the cancellation of the rally. When our party workers protested, they were beaten up by the ruling party cadres," he alleged.
Denying the charge, a senior TMC leader said, "The saffron party's claims are bereft of truth. It was the BJP workers that ransacked one of our local offices and attacked our party men."
A state government official said a huge police contingent has been stationed in Baruipur to thwart any untoward incident.
Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said Banerjee's dictatorship is on full play in the state.
"This is murder of democracy. The EC should take cognizance of the matter. If important leaders are not allowed to hold rallies, what is the meaning of elections," he told reporters in New Delhi.
Javadekar also slammed the state police for arresting a BJP youth-wing worker, who shared a social media post mocking Banerjee.
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My party will complete 5-year term, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday asserted that the Congress government would complete its five-year term, while sidestepping questions on whether he personally would remain in office for the full duration.
Addressing reporters here, he maintained that decisions on the leadership would rest with the party high command and refrained from giving a direct answer on his own tenure.
“Our party will complete five years,” Siddaramaiah said, when asked if he would complete a full term as Chief Minister.
On the issue of leadership, he reiterated that the final call would be taken by the party leadership, saying, “The high command will decide. There’s no point asking the same thing again.”
Indicating his readiness to travel to the national capital if required, he said, “If I am called to Delhi, I will go,” adding that he would seek an appointment with Rahul Gandhi if needed.
The talks on leadership change have intensified in the power corridor of the state where claims were made that Siddaramaiah would make way for his Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
The Chief Minister also underlined that recent by-election victories in Bagalkote and Davanagere South assembly segment reflected public support for the government, stating that this clearly shows that people have appreciated the Congress government and its programmes.
The CM also dismissed the opposition’s claims, alleging they lacked strategy, and said local body elections would be conducted as per rules.
