Behind Amit Shah’s silence is Mamata

"Let me stop for a while. Let it (the muezzin's call for azan) be completed. We don't want to give Mamata Banerjee an excuse against us."

Updated - April 07, 2016 02:22 am IST - Kolkata

Kolkata: BJP president Amit Shah addresses a party rally in Kolkata on Sunday. PTI Photo by Swapan Mahapatra(PTI11_30_2014_000079B)

Kolkata: BJP president Amit Shah addresses a party rally in Kolkata on Sunday. PTI Photo by Swapan Mahapatra(PTI11_30_2014_000079B)

BJP president Amit Shah stopped midway in his speech while addressing a rally here on Sunday as the muezzin's call for prayers was sounded from a mosque close by and said he didn't want to give West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee an excuse against him.

"Let me stop for a while. Let it (the muezzin's call for azan) be completed. We don't want to give Mamata Banerjee an excuse against us," Mr. Shah said midway of his 30-minute speech as the azan (prayers) started.

When some BJP supporters started shouting slogans while the azan was going on, the party president raised his hands and asked them to remain silent, reiterating, "We should not give any excuse to Mamata 'didi."

Mr. Shah's jibe at Ms. Banerjee came in the wake of the uncertainty about conducting BJP rally at the city's Esplanade area with the state administration and civic authorities initially denying permission and BJP knocking the doors of the High Court.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.