Trinamool Congress party workers in West Bengal's Cooch Behar district today sprinkled 'ganga jal' (Ganga River water) and cow dung water to "purify" the grounds, where the BJP held a rally on Saturday. Local TMC leader Pankaj Ghosh said that the grounds had to be "purified as the BJP came here and gave a communal message."
Invoking the local deity, the TMC leader said, "This is the land of Lord Madan Mohan ...so as per Hindu traditions we purified the place." Cooch Behar TMC supporters also claimed no chariot other than Lord Madan Mohan's can be taken out in the district.
BJP chief Amit Shah was scheduled to kick off three rath yatras - on December 7, 9 and 14 - from Cooch Behar, South 24 Parganas, and Birbhum respectively, to cover all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. The party plans the culmination of the yatras with a mammoth rally in Kolkata, likely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday ridiculed the BJP's scheduled 'rath yatra' of as 'ravan yatra'. "Ignore the event as just another political gimmick," news agency PTI quoted Ms Banerjee.
"I have asked my party workers to conduct 'purification and unity yatra' to cleanse the areas through which the chariots pass. I wonder what sort of yatra it would be with chariots equipped with five-star facilities. It is 'ravan yatra', not 'rath yatra', the Chief Minister said.
The Bengal BJP hit back at Ms Banerjee claiming that she and her party were suffering from "fear psychosis" as they "dread" losing in the next Lok Sabha polls.
"It seems Mamata Banerjee and the TMC are suffering from fear psychosis. They are feeling threatened by the 'rath yatra', aimed at restoring democracy in the state," BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh said.
Mr Shah has told the state party unit that it must set a target of winning at least 22 parliamentary seats in West Bengal in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Friday slammed the Bengal government for apparently sitting on the BJP's applications, seeking permission for its rallies. The high court modified a single-bench order that deferred the BJP's programme in Cooch Behar till January 9. The court directed the state's top administrative officers and the police chief to hold discussions with three BJP representatives by December 12 and take a final decision by December 14.
(With inputs from PTI & ANI)
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