BJP banners removed ahead of Amit Shah’s Kolkata roadshow
Photo: Twitter@subratowb
Kolkata: A controversy erupted hours before BJP President Amit Shah’s rally here on Tuesday after banners and flexes of the saffron party leaders including that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were removed from the roadside.
— Kailash Vijayvargiya (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KailashOnline) May 14, 2019
Shah is scheduled to hold a roadshow from central Kolkata’s Shahid Minar to Swami Vivekananda’s residence in north Kolkata’s Maniktala on Tuesday afternoon.
Just two hours before the roadshow, a large number of cut outs and flexes of Shah, Modi and north Kolkata’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rahul Sinha, were removed from a long stretch of Lenin Sarani.
Check this out how @MamataOfficial & @AITCofficial persons removed our flags and hoarding which were put on for the #MegaRoadShow of @AmitShah ji in Kolkata North. @BJP4Bengal #RSCampaign2019 #LokSabhaElections #Elections2019 pic.twitter.com/UTEQ8xhUZe
— Rahul Sinha ● রাহুল সিনহা (Modi Ka Pariwar) (@RahulSinhaBJP) May 14, 2019
BJP leaders accused the state administration of “resorting to hooliganism” to impede Shah’s rally and alleged that the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress activists were deliberately damaging the posters and cut outs while removing them.
“The Election Commission has given us permission to hold the roadshow. How is it possible that party banners and flags are not allowed on the road? Bengal government’s hooliganism is going on here. We will talk to the EC about this,” BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said.
ये नागवार हरकत ठीक नहीं !!!#BJP अध्यक्ष @AmitShah जी की कोलकाता रैली को फेल करने के लिए ममता सरकार कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ रही! स्वागत मंच नहीं लगाने दिए गए और सड़क के दोनों और लगाए गुब्बारे और होर्डिंग भी #KMC ने निकाल दिए!
ये राजनीतिक वैमनस्यता बहुत भारी पड़ेगी दीदी! pic.twitter.com/sPfnn6kRSI
— Kailash Vijayvargiya (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KailashOnline) May 14, 2019
Police claimed the drive was taken up under the direct instruction of the Election Commission, as the flexes were put up on state government properties without permission.
The BJP leaders and activists on the spot, however, claimed that Trinamool Congress activists were removing flexes in presence of police.
বিজেপি সর্বভারতীয় সভাপতি শ্রী @AmitShah জী'র মেগা রোডশো এর জন্য কলকাতায় রাস্তার দুপাশে লাগানো ফ্ল্যাগ হোডিং , ভেঙে তান্ডব চালালো অসহিষ্ণু,বর্বর,অসভ্য তৃণমূল ।। @AITCofficial #bengalModiKeSaath#DeshModiKeSaath pic.twitter.com/kiOy7jmD8J
— Subrato Chattopadhyay (@subratowb) May 14, 2019
“If EC has asked them to do so, the personnel of the electoral body should be present on the spot. But these people are Trinamool activists. They are deliberately damaging the cut outs and flexes and throwing them on the roadside to damage them,” a BJP leader alleged.
When contacted, the Election Commission refused to comment saying they have “no specific update” on the issue.
“We do not have any specific update at this point. Please get in touch with us after 5.30 p.m.,” Deputy Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Amitjyoti Bhattacharya told IANS.
Published on: May 14, 2019 at 15:45 IST
IANS
