Ahead of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Amit Shah's public rally in Kolkata on Friday, posters reading 'Anti-Bengal BJP Go Back' were seen put up around Mayo Road, in the heart of the city.
On Froday, the delegation comprised of BJP's national general secretaries Kailash Vijayvargiya and P Muralidhar Rao went to Mayo Road and took stock of the preparations and security arrangements for Shah's rally.
The state BJP unit alleged that the placards with messages - "BJP, leave Bengal" and "anti-Bengal BJP go back" - were put up by Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadres, a charge denied by the ruling party.
"This shows that the TMC is afraid of our rally tomorrow. The days of TMC are numbered in Bengal. The people of the state are waiting for good governance of the BJP," West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said.
Bengal is not TMC's "personal property", the party has no right to make such demands, said another senior BJP leader.
With the TMC announcing protest rallies in West Bengal on Saturday against the Assam NRC, the BJP leadership wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the state chief secretary, requesting them to ensure the safety and security of its members who will arrive in the city for party president Amit Shah's rally.
West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh wrote to Singh, requesting him to urge the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal to ensure the safety and security of the saffron party's workers, who will come to attend Shah's rally and on their way back.
Earlier, some reports emerged that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government had denied permission to the BJP to hold Shah's rally, but later Kolkata Police came in front and refuted the speculations.
In reaction to such speculative reports, Shah had made it clear in Delhi that he would not only go to Kolkata but is even prepared to get arrested. Shah said, "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."
However, Kolkata Police on August 1 announced that Shah has been granted permission for a public rally in Kolkata.
From past few days, the confrontation between the BJP and the Opposition has been undergoing over the release of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft list in Assam on July 30, which has left out nearly 40 lakh people in Assam while incorporating names of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants.
Banerjee has been consistently disapproving the latest NRC draft. Accusing the BJP of vendetta politics, she had said that the party was targeting people in the wake of general elections scheduled in 2019. She has also accused the BJP of conspiracy against minorities.
(Agencies)
