Hours after being denied of permission to hold a rally, BJP chief Amit Shah while addressing a rally in West Bengal’s Joynagar challenged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to arrest him for shouting “Jai Shri Ram”.
A video was shared by news agency ANI, in which Amit Shah can be heard saying, “Mamata didi, I am chanting Jai Shri Ram here and leaving for Kolkata, arrest me if you have guts.” “I was to visit three places today, but Mamata’s ji’s nephew is contesting from one of the seats so she is scared her nephew will lose, and that’s why she cancelled the permission for our rally,” Amit Shah said, addressing the gathering.
#WATCH BJP President Amit Shah in Joynagar, West Bengal: Mamata didi, I am chanting Jai Shri Ram here & leaving for Kolkata, arrest me if you have guts. pic.twitter.com/gw7yg8bHHU
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2019
The BJP also hit out at Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, alleging the chief minister has replaced democracy with her “dictatorship” after the state administration denied permission to a rally by its president Amit Shah. Shah was scheduled to hold a rally in Jadhavpur Monday but the state administration denied permission for it last night and also withdrew its nod to the landing of Shah’s chopper in the constituency, BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here. “This is murder of democracy. The EC should take cognizance of the matter. If important leaders are not allowed to hold rallies then what is the meaning of elections,” Javadekar said.
In January this year, permission was denied for the BJP president’s chopper to land in Malda district to hold a rally. However, authorities permitted Shah to hold the public meeting at the last minute. In its defence, the Malda district administration had stated that it was not possible to grant permission to land VVIP helicopters that week, owing to construction work.