Amit Shah had planned a rally from Cooch Behar in West Bengal in the first of three marches
Highlights
- Amit Shah's Bengal rath yatra will cover 42 Lok Sabha constituencies
- We will definitely carry out all 'yatra', nobody can stop us: Amit Shah
- Mamata Banerjee is throttling democracy: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah, denied permission to hold a rally today in West Bengal, hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying she was terrified that the BJP was making inroads into the state. "There is a reign of terror in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee is throttling democracy," said Amit Shah.
Today's rally from Cooch Behar was to be the first of three marches planned by the BJP to criss-cross the state ahead of next year's general elections.
"We will definitely carry out all 'yatra', nobody can stop us," Amit Shah said.
Yesterday, the Calcutta High Court agreed with a state government decision to refuse permission to Amit Shah's 'rath yatra' on grounds that it anticipated "communal tension".
This morning, a division bench accepted a request to review a single judge bench order supporting the Bengal government's order.
The 'rath yatra' would have covered all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bengal - one of the few non-BJP states. Mr Shah has set the party a target of 22 of the state's 40 seats in next year's national elections. The BJP currently has two Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal - Asansol and Darjeeling.
The other two BJP rallies are planned from Kakdwip - in the extreme southern part of the state - and Tarapith temple in Birbhum district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may address a rally in Kolkata after the two yatras end.