Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) supporters, including many monks, started pouring in large numbers since Sunday morning to listen to party chief Amit Shah’s speech at Esplanade in Central Kolkata. By mid-day at least 10,000 supporters gathered in front of the stage erected in front of the landmark Electric Supply Corporation building.
While officially Mr. Shah is in Kolkata to mark BJP’s Uthhan Diwas (Day of Rising), it is timed to build up more pressure on ruling the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), which is facing a multi-level probe by central agencies in the State. Hence, the supporters gathered at the rally are expecting severe AITC by the chief.
“Trinamool has to be removed and we expect Amit Shah to set the course in his speech,” said Sukumar Baba, a priest from Haridwar in Uttarakhand. He came to attend the rally to support “Modi’s developmental model,” he claimed. Many supporters came from north Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur and south’s Purulia district.
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The public meeting is taking place a day after Calcutta High Court gave conditional permission to BJP to hold a rally in Esplanade. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the fire brigade have also asked the BJP to go ahead with the rally.