Will crush rath yatra protesters: BJP leader
BERHAMPORE: Whoever attempts to resist the raths, will be crushed under the wheels of the rath. The yatras will certainly take place in the support of common people LOCKET CHATTERJEE, BJP leader
Anyone who will attempt to obstruct the party’s rath yatra in West Bengal will be crushed under the wheels of the chariot, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women wing chief Locket Chatterjee said on Saturday.
The rally of three raths that has been labelled as Ganatantra Bachao Yatra (Rally for Saving Democracy) is so far the most high-profile and spectacular political programme by the saffron party in the state.
“Whoever attempts to resist the chariots, will be crushed under the wheels of the rath. The rath yatras will certainly take place in the support of common people,” Chatterjee told the media, responding to questions that Trinamool Congress leaders have hinted that the programme will be stopped if chief minister Mamata Banerjee wishes so.
During the day, Chatterjee held a meeting of women members from 11 districts in the north Bengal district of Malda discussing the role of women in the event.
Three raths — buses actually — are supposed to start their journey from Cooch Behar, Tarapith and Gangasagar in the first week of December.
“Senior BJP leaders Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonwalkar will lead the raths. The people of Bengal want this rath yatra,” said Chatterjee.
Ruling party leaders hit back. “Chatterjee used to work for the film and television industry. She seems to be carrying the dialogue from her earlier vocation. Common people don’t like these statements,” said Dulal Sarkar, Trinamool working president (Malda).
”The BJP has been able to form a few gram panchayat boards in Malda with the support of the Left front. It does not mean BJP has got popular support. The Lok Sabha elections will prove it,” said Sarkar.
West Bengal is a focussed state where the party wants to win at least 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections and is depending on this programme to rally public opinion in the state.
BJP national executive member Mukul Roy, who is the head of the party’s Lok Sabha election management committee for West Bengal, has said they will move court if the Mamata Banerjee administration keeps ignoring their plea for a meeting to discuss the yatra.
Roy had sent a letter to home secretary Atri Bhattacharya on October 29, seeking an appointment with him by November 5. As it yielded no response, a second letter was shot on November 5, seeking an appointment by November 9.