BJP called off Shivraj's rally as Bengal govt denied chopper landing permission

The West Bengal BJP had to call off the rally of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Murshidabad district on Wednesday after his helicopter was denied permission to land. "We have decided to cancel the rally today (Wednesday) as we were not given permission to land the chopper at Baharampur in Murshidabad district. He will be attending the rally at Kharagpur today," BJP state General Secretary Sayantan Basu said.

Chouhan, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice President, was slated to attend two rallies -- one at Baharampur in Murshidabad district and the other at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district. "He will now attend the rally only at Kharagpur where he will go by road from the Kolkata airport," Basu said.

"Earlier also, permission for landing of choppers had been denied for the rallies of (Uttar Pradesh CM) Yogi Adityanath, (Union Minister) Smriti Irani and other leaders. This is not new to us. We will fight it out in our own way," he said, accusing the state administration of indulging in "vendetta politics".