Kolkata, February 3: The office of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said the West Bengal government has denied permission for his rally in North Dinajpur. The permission for Yogi Adityanath's rally was denied without any prior notice, his office said. According to reports, the Trinamool Congress-led state government denied permission for Adityanath's chopper to land.
"This is because of Yogi Adityanath's popularity that Mamata Banerjee has denied permission to his chopper for landing in West Bengal," Mritunjay Kumar, Information Advisor to Uttar Pradesh chief minister, told news agency ANI.
Last month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had issued a statement accusing the West Bengal government of denying permission for party's national president Amit Shah's chopper at the Malda airstrip. The statement said the local administration cited ongoing construction work to prevent the politician from landing when there was nothing of the sort going on.
The state government flatly denied the allegation, saying that the BJP was "peddling lies" after the "huge success" of the recent opposition rally in Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the police may have only recommended a change of venue for the helipad because of security reasons. Shah's chopper was later granted permission to land at two places in Malda region. Amit Shah Falls From Chopper While Campaigning For Mizoram Assembly Elections, Watch Video.
In September last year, the BJP cancelled its Nagrik Sammelan in Kolkata where party president Amit Shah was scheduled to address, alleging that the West Bengal government-owned indoor stadium, the venue of the Sammelan (gathering), had cancelled the booking for the event. However, the TMC said it had nothing to do with it.
In October, a political a row erupted over the cancellation of booking for an October 3 event, which was to be addressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, by a state-run auditorium. The Sangh and the BJP had denounced it as an act of "vengeance" but the decision was defended by the Mamata Banerjee-led government.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2019 10:52 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).