West Bengal govt denies permission for Rahul Gandhi's chopper to land

Congress president Rahul Gandhi's proposed meeting at Siliguri has been cancelled after the Congress leadership was denied permission for his chopper to land at the police ground.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI Photo

KOLKATA: A meeting of Congress President Rahul Gandhi which was scheduled to be held on Sunday in Siliguri has now been cancelled as the authorities in West Bengal have denied permission for his chopper to land at police ground there, PTI reported. Shankar Malakar, Congress party's Darjeeling Lok Sabha candidate, was quoted by the news agency as saying that he had sought permission for Gandhi's chopper to land at the police ground on April 14 but it was denied by the police. "We had to cancel the rally as we didn't get the permission," Malakar, senior Congress leader, said. Siliguri Police Commissioner B L Meena has also confirmed the same. "We had denied permission for that specific ground. There are some rules due to which it was not allowed. But they didn't come up with any alternative venue." Amid the blame game, the infighting in Bengal Congress came out in open as state Congress president Somen Mitra said he was not aware of the rally of the AICC chief. "I can't say whether or not a rally is going to be held. Please don't ask me this question," Mitra said. A senior state Congress leader said Mitra was miffed as Malakar who, without informing him, had sought permission for Gandhi's rally, on his own. "We are all soldiers of Rahul Gandhi. There is no doubt about it. But some of our candidates without informing the PCC chief is announcing that they are planning to hold rallies of Rahul Gandhi, even without seeking permission from his office. This is not sending out the right message," a senior state Congress leader said. Gandhi so far addressed two election rallies in the state - one at Malda and another at Raiganj. In January, the authorities in West Bengal denied permission for BJP President Amit Shah's chopper to land in the state ahead of an election rally. (With inputs from PTI)