Denied permission for helicopter landing, Yogi Adityanath to travel by road from Jharkhand to address rally in West Bengal’s Purulia

Lucknow: Having been denied permission to land his chopper in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will on Tuesday touch down in Jharkhand’s Bokaro and then travel to West Bengal’s Purulia district by road to address a public rally. The chief minister will leave for Purulia after the adjournment of the Vidhan Sabha session today. He is slated to address the rally at around 3:30 pm. [caption id=“attachment_5661321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. PTI[/caption] Yogi was scheduled to address two rallies in West Bengal on February 3, one in North Dinajpur district’s Raiganj and the other in South Dinajpur district’s Balurghat. However, the TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee declined permission for Yogi’s chopper to land for both rallies without any prior notice. Later in the day, Yogi addressed the rally in Raiganj via telephone and accused Banerjee of carrying out “shameful” activities. The BJP has condemned Banerjee over the obstacles faced by the party in conducting rallies and other events in the state, while also criticising her government for the ongoing tussle between the CBI and the state police. Uttar Pradesh Science and Technology Minister Mohsin Raza told ANI, “The CBI is an independent agency and it has the right to go anywhere in the country. What Mamata ji is doing I have never seen anything like it in my political career, where she is supporting an IPS officer who is being investigated by the CBI.” “She allows Rohingyas and foreign infiltrators to stay in the state, people who promote democratic values, be it our chief minister, our national president, they cannot go. She is being supported by people who are also under the CBI’s radar. It is shameful and condemnable. They are making a mockery of the Constitution. If you want to see a situation of emergency anywhere, you can see it in West Bengal,” Raza said. Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said, “Mamata ji has created an unconstitutional and undemocratic atmosphere in West Bengal. The CBI vs Mamata situation in the state clearly shows that democracy is in peril there. When Narendra Modi ji was the Gujarat chief minister, he fully cooperated with agencies when he was under probe. He was also in your position and he showed that you have to cooperate with the law and not fight it”. Banerjee launched her dharna in Kolkata on Sunday night amidst an unprecedented face-off with the Centre over CBI versus state police issue. She launched her ‘Save the Constitution’ sit-in at around 9 pm after the CBI attempted to arrest Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar in connection with the Saradha chit fund case, which was foiled by the state police.