Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah flashes victory sign during his visit to Swami Vivekanandas ancestral house, in Kolkata, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Kolkata after 1 am on Saturday on a two-day visit to take stock of his party's affairs in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections slated to be held in the next few months. In a tweet upon his arrival in Kolkata, he wrote, "I bow to this revered land of greats like Gurudev Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee."
Reached Kolkata!
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 18, 2020
I bow to this revered land of greats like Gurudev Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
কলকাতায় পৌঁছালাম।
কবিগুরু রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর, ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর এবং শ্যামাপ্রসাদ মুখোপাধ্যায়ের মত মহামানবের এই পুণ্য ভূমিকে আমি শতকোটি প্রণাম জানাই pic.twitter.com/rEGSjc87Rk
Suvendu Adhikari, who gave up his cabinet portfolios and the Trinamool Congress, joined the BJP today. A slew of disgruntled TMC leaders, including some MLAs are also expected to join the saffron party.
Shah will address a public rally at Midnapore on Saturday where a number of TMC leaders are likely to join the saffron party.
The BJP's state chief Dilip Ghosh has said that Shah and party president JP Nadda would visit West Bengal every month till the assembly elections, likely in April-May, are over.
Amit Shah visits Swami Vivekananda's birthplace, says his ideals more relevant today
Amit Shah visited the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda in north Kolkata today and said that the ideals of the 19th-century icon are more relevant in the present-day world. Shah paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda, hailing him for taking Indian's culture and ethos to the world.
"Swami Vivekananda took India's culture, vision and ethos to the world. He bridged the gap between spirituality and modernity. After visiting his birthplace, I feel his ideals are still relevant in the present-day world. Rather, his ideals are more needed in the present times," he told reporters.
The path shown by Vivekananda will not only lead India but the entire world on the road to prosperity, Shah said.
He said Vivekananda gave a call for worshipping the nation as 'Bharatmata' in his Chicago address.
"Eventually the country got freedom," Shah said, describing Vivekananda as one of the most dynamic spiritual leaders of the country who familiarised the world with the philosophy of India.
Amid beats of the dhaak, Shah arrived at Vivekananda's ancestral home in Simla Street that has been turned into a museum. Members of the BJP women's wing, in traditional white saree with red borders, welcomed him by showering flower petals.
After garlanding the statue of Swami Vivekananda outside the complex, Shah was shown the articles used by him. The BJP leader also interacted with the monks.
