After a three-member BJP delegation was refused entry into Kaliachak in Malda in West Bengal on Monday, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari was today denied permission to hold a rally in the area on January 18.
The local district administration has cited law and order trouble as a reason to put the minister's visit to the district on hold.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to visit Malda for a rally on January 21.
The BJP will hold its rally in South Dinajpur instead. However, the date of the event is yet to be decided.
The development comes at a time when the Mamata Banerjee government is already facing flak for refusing other parties to visit the violence-hit district. After the BJP delegation was turned away, CPM leader Mohammed Salim was also denied entry into the area.
Tension erupted in Malda last Sunday, following a massive protest rally by Muslim groups against the hate speech of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari.
However, police officials claim that the entire violence was carried out to terrorise the local administration, which is trying to crack down on the poppy empire, take revenge against the police and destroy crucial evidence at the police station.
