A day after violence marred BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow here, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that there was a need for "intervention" in the state.
When asked at a press conference if the President's Rule should be imposed in West Bengal, Adityanath said: "The way the power is being misused in Bengal and even yesterday the police remained as a passive onlooker, there would have been a major mishap if there were no central forces. Naturally, these conditions prove that here there is a need to intervene."
"The way TMC goons attacked Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata on Tuesday, it is a dangerous sign for democracy and the beginning of TMC government's end. In Uttar Pradesh, elections have taken place peacefully in 67 Lok Sabha constituencies in six phases so far. Till now, there has not been any incident of booth capturing, stone pelting or violence," said Adityanath.
He alleged the "state government-sponsored incident in Kolkata was an incident of anarchy."
Adityanath said Chief Minister Banerjee was falsely accusing the BJP of the attack on Shah's roadshow.
"There shouldn't be any place for such incidents in a democracy. Mamata Banerjee wants to hide all this and thinks that if she speaks a lie 100 times, then it will become a truth. However, a lie always remains a lie. This has not happened for the first time when BJP leaders were stopped from doing a programme at a public place," he said.
More From This Section
He said: "I want to ask two questions to Mamata Banerjee - Is it not true that her government had closed the schools, which were established by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar to uplift the Bengali language? Secondly, we believe in worshipping idols. Is it not true that she has been opposing worshipping idols every now and them? Is it not true that it was Mamata who had tried to obstruct Durga Puja celebration for Muharram when the date for two festivals had coincided last year?"
Adityanath said that TMC "goons" were involved in vandalising the idol of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
"Nobody has any doubt on this. She should release the CCTV footage of that area to the public. That will prove that TMC goons had attacked Shah's rally and vandalised Vidyasagar's statue," he said.
"BJP has lakhs of workers in West Bengal. It does not need to bring an outsider. TMC government here has lost the right to be in power in the state ethically," said Adityanath.
The remaining nine Lok Sabha seats will go to polls in West Bengal, where 40 seats are at stake, on May 19, the last phase of seven-phased parliamentary elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
