BJP chief Amit Shah. (File)
The Kolkata police on Wednesday granted permission to BJP chief Amit Shah’s rally on August 11 at Mayo Road. This comes hours after Shah dared the West Bengal government to arrest him.
Earlier in the day, reacting to the delay in getting the permission from Kolkata police, the BJP chief had said if the West Bengal government wants it can arrest him but he will definitely go to Kolkata. “It does not matter whether I get permission or not, I will definitely go to Kolkata. If the state government wants, it can arrest me,” ANI quoted Shah as saying.
Shah had earlier exhorted his party leaders to reach out to the masses in West Bengal to prepare for an all-out battle against the alleged misrule of the TMC.
The Trinamool Congress, meanwhile, continues to attack the Centre over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft. Warning the Centre of a civil war over the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the NRC, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has labelled the BJP as “the real infiltrator”. The real infiltrator is BJP because they are interfering in everything — what you eat what you wear, even interfering in media,” she said.
Mamata called the NRC an “insult” to the neighbouring country Bangladesh. “Bangladeshis are our neighbours, not a terrorist country. Not every Bangladeshi is an infiltrator,” she added. Questioning the exclusion of people, she said she can’t even prove her own family’s rights to reside in Bengal since 1971. “How will I, I don’t even know my parent’s birthday.”