The Kolkata Police on Wednesday refuted reports that it had rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party’s application seeking permission to host a rally led by its president, Amit Shah.
Earlier on Wednesday, Shah told reporters that he would go to Kolkata irrespective of whether he got the police department’s permission. “It does not matter whether I get permission or not, I will definitely go to Kolkata,” Shah said. “If the state government wants, it can arrest me.”
The BJP president made the statement while answering queries about the BJP Yuva Morcha’s claim that it was yet to receive approval for the August 11 rally, PTI reported. The BJP Yuva Morcha’s state president Debjit Sarkar said the outfit would move the court if the police denied them permission.
“We have mentioned five venues in Kolkata for the meeting,” Sarkar told the news agency. “We need time to prepare for the rally.”
The Kolkata Police took to Twitter to clarify its stance. “Some unwarranted speculation in social media about denial of permission to a political party on August 11 has come to our notice,” the city police tweeted. “It is to clarify that on request permission for meeting has already been granted.”
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