BJP fumes as Yogi's chopper denied permission in WB; party workers protest

Balurghat (West Bengal): The BJP on Sunday accused the West Bengal government of denying permission to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's helicopter to land here.

Adityanath was scheduled to address two rallies at Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur district and Raiganj in Uttar Dinajpur district.

Activists and supporters of the saffron party protested outside District Magistrate A.D.P. Palraj's office at Balurghat.

According to district BJP leaders, the party had been trying to secure the permission besides making alternative arrangements so that Adiyanath could address the rally here.

According to them, they had filed for the requisite permission well in advance but were told at the last minute that a final decision was yet to be taken on the matter.

Describing the incident as yet another glaring example of "undeclared Emergency" in the state, BJP national Secretary Rahul Sinha demanded immediate suspension of the District Magistrate.

"This is a glaring example of an undeclared Emergency in West Bengal. How can you treat the Chief Minister of another state in this way? The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh is a guest in Bengal.

"The culture of Bengal is to extend all courtesies to the guests. But in this case they have refused permission for his chopper to land. Nothing can be more indecent. This only shows how much the Trinamool is scared of BJP's progress in Bengal," he said.

This is the second recent instance a controversy has erupted over the denial of permission for facilitating the landing of helicopters carrying BJP bigwigs, who have been holding public meetings across the state as part of the BJP's blitzkrieg in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

On January 22, the district administration had denied permission for BJP President Amit Shah's chopper to land in Malda district, citing that the ground was not ready.

Later, the state BJP unit obtained permission to land the chopper at two places -- the helipad in Malda's Golden Park Hotel and the helipad used by the Border Security Force in the district -- and Shah duly addressed the rally.

 BJP workers on Sunday staged a protest outside the South Dinajpur district magistrate's house over the denial of permission for the chopper of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to land here.

The UP chief minister along with state BJP president Dilip Ghosh is scheduled to address two "Ganatantra Bacaho Rallies" at Balurghat in South Dinajpur district and Raiganj in North Dinajpur district.

The rallies were scheduled to held at 1 PM and 3 PM respectively.

Yogi Aditynath's chopper was scheduled to land near the venue of the meeting at Balurghat.

"We are yet to get permission to land the chopper. So our party workers are staging a protest rally outside the DM's residence demanding permission to land the chopper," Ghosh told PTI.

According to state BJP sources, it has now been decided that the UP chief minister's chopper will land at Raiganj BSF camp. He will then proceed from there to Balurghat by road to address the rallies.

"He will return to Raiganj to address the next rally," he said.