The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will hold Statewide protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to West Bengal on Monday.
The CPI(M) State leadership said black flags would be waved at the Prime Minister, who is scheduled to address a rally in the Midnapore town of Paschim Medinipur district.
“The Centre’s claim that its decision to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops is for the farmers’ benefit is nothing but treachery. Not only will we greet the Prime Minister with black flags during his visit, but we will hold protests across the State,” CPI(M) State secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said. However, he did not disclose the places where CPI(M) workers would show black flags to the Prime Minister.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the meeting — titled Krishak Kalyan Samavesh (Conference for farmers’ welfare) — was being organised by the State BJP to “congratulate” the Prime Minister for hiking the MSP on kharif crops.
BJP president Amit Shah will also attend a rally on August 3 in Kolkata, organised by the party’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). “The rally will be against the ‘murder of democracy’ by the Trinamool Congress in Bengal. BJYM national president Ponam Mahajan had urged Mr. Shah to attend the rally and he agreed,” said Mr. Ghosh.
More meetings planned
He also said that Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah would hold rallies at regular intervals in the State ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
“Apart from the Prime Minister and the party president, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will also hold several rallies in Bengal. However, the dates are yet to be finalised,’ said Mr. Ghosh.
