Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee discontinued her public meeting at Bhowanipore’s Chakraberia Road on Saturday evening alleging that microphones set up for a BJP rally 400 metres away were placed directly towards the Trinamool meeting to drown out her voice.Promising to return for a rally at the same spot on Sunday, the CM urged people to return TMC to office with a two-thirds majority, saying that anything less would allow “BJP to try and topple an elected govt, as they did in Maharashtra”.As a visibly angry CM left the stage, saying that she would move court against the EC for attempting to block her public meetings, the area became tense. Hundreds of TMC workers gheraoed Bhowanipore police station. A large contingent of central forces also rushed to the spot.“How can I conduct a meeting like this? I have taken permission; despite that, you see the attitude. Whatever they are doing forcefully to capture Bengal is wrong. They are doing it in my constituency… If they behave in this manner, I am sorry, I will have to take legal action,” Banerjee said.The moment Banerjee began to speak at the Chakraberia meeting — her second in Bhowanipore during the day — the CM complained of BJP’s microphones and said it was “very insulting”.“They are shouting in front of me so that I cannot conduct the meeting. I can’t engage in such indecency. This is a huge humiliation. I am conveying my respects to you all and taking my leave. If you can, please give me your vote; my symbol is Number 2. But you must cast your vote in protest of this — they are not letting me hold the meeting even though I took official permission for it,” she said.Alleging that “BJP had lost the plot in Bengal”, Banerjee said at her first meeting: “I have heard that 50 copters are transporting their netas today. Be it CMs, Union ministers, central forces or central agencies — they have deployed everyone here. Except for firing, central forces have been given the freedom to take any action. They might use brute force but our workers will not bow down.”Accusing Union home minister Amit Shah of meeting a CAPF official, the CM alleged: “Mota Bhai held a meeting in the morning with a person from the central forces who was sent to Nandigram to loot votes. He has been instructed to slow down the voting process. He has been given charge of Bhowanipore. I don’t care. They can’t do anything to me.”
