Denied permission to land chopper by Mamata govt, Yogi Adityanth addresses rally via phone

The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has on Sunday denied permission for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's chopper to land in the state ahead of an election rally.

The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has on Sunday denied permission for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's chopper to land in the state ahead of an election rally. Photo: ANI

BALURGHAT: The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has on Sunday denied permission for Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's chopper to land in the state ahead of an election rally. The firebrand BJP leader was scheduled to address the "Ganatantra Bachao Rally" at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district at 10:30 am but could not attend the rally after permission was denied for his helicopter to land near the venue. Yogi later addressed the gathering through a telephone call and his speech was broadcasted using an audio link. "The TMC government didn't allow me to come and meet you all. That is why I had to resort to Digital India of Modi-ji to address you. This TMC government is anti-people, anti-democratic and have compromised with national security," Adityanath said. "Mamata Banerjee has opposed BJP’s 'save democracy' movement from beginning. (BJP President) Amit Shah was to go there to start this initiative but the West Bengal government has stopped it. I had rallies in Balurghat and Raiganj but they didn’t permit chopper landing That's why I had to address rally via telephone," he said. The TMC government is afraid of the BJP as it very well knows that its days in Bengal are numbered, he said. Alleging that the TMC government had tried to stop Durga Puja in West Bengal in order to pursue its appeasement policy, Adityanath urged BJP workers to fight hard in order to ensure that the party forms the next government in the state. "Mamata Banerjee should remember that she cannot misuse the government and its agencies in the state. It is shameful that government officials are acting as TMC cadres in the state," he said. Uttar Pradesh chief minister's office said the permission for Adityanath's rally in West Bengal has been declined by the West Bengal government without any prior notice. According to district BJP leaders, they had filed for the requisite permission well in advance but were told at the last minute that a final decision was yet to be taken on the matter. This is the second recent instance a controversy has erupted over the denial of permission for facilitating the landing of helicopters carrying BJP bigwigs, who have been holding public meetings across the state as part of the BJP's blitzkrieg in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. On January 22, the district administration had denied permission for BJP President Amit Shah's chopper to land in Malda district, citing that the ground was not ready. Later, the state BJP unit obtained permission to land the chopper at two places -- the helipad in Malda's Golden Park Hotel and the helipad used by the Border Security Force in the district -- and Shah duly addressed the rally.