KOLKATA: A fortnight after Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee held a rally--nearly 200 meters away from leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari's residence, the BJP will hold a public meeting to protest against "corruption and lawlessness" in the state. The rally, organised by the district BJP on December 21, has invited Adhikari as the main speaker.
"We will hold a rally on December 21 at the Contai Prabhat Kumar College ground. It is a routine political programme of the party. Trinamool Congress has become bankrupt politically. Law and order situation in the state is worrisome," said Shamik Bhattacharya, Bengal BJP spokesperson.
According to district BJP sources, the decision to hold the rally came after Banerjee addressed a large gathering at Adhikari's turf on Saturday. Adhikari had earlier filed a case before the Calcutta High Court to stop Banerjee from holding a rally near his residence Shantikunj. The court however allowed the TMC to organise the rally with the condition that none should enter Adhikari's premises.
Trinamool Congress criticised the decision alleging the BJP was trying to emulate them. "He (Adhikari) is now trying to emulate what Abhishek has done. The Rally at Kanthi had a huge response from people. Seems he is getting nervous with the response. We will continue with our pre-scheduled political programmes in Midnapore and I hope Adhikari's rally does not clash with that of Adhikari's," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
Chandrasekhar Mandal, secretary of the BJP's Kanthi organisational district said that it is not in response to Banerjee's rally. "This is to protest against the corruption at every level of the government. We are seeing increasing violence in the state," he said.
"We had a rally at Diamond Harbour. We had to relocate the rally venue from Dolonghati under the Kulpi police station. We shifted the rally to the Lighthouse ground. Most of our workers and supporters were stopped from attending the rally. TMC workers beat our supporters at Hatuganj and other areas. Five cases have been registered with the police against the violence. We will move the court on Tuesday and hold a rally at Hazra crossing," Adhikari said.
