Kolkata rally: BJP says Narendra Modi's chopper gets landing permission hours after alleging it was denied

Kolkata : Hours after it alleged that Narendra Modi was denied permission by the Army to land his rally at the Race Course Ground in Kolkata for his rally, the BJP said the Defence Ministry allowed it.

"We have got the permission finally from the Ministry of Defence. After media reports, the Centre was forced to give permission as a damage control measure," West Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha said.

Mr Modi is scheduled to address a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in the West Bengal capital for the first time ever and the BJP, which has a relatively minor presence in the state, says it expects a crowd to rival the five-lakh plus people that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee drew at her rally on January 30.

The state BJP had earlier said that they were reworking Mr Modi's itinerary, but now that the permission has been granted, the BJP leader's schedule remains unchanged and after landing at the Kolkata airport, he would board a helicopter to the race course ground, which is controlled by the Army authorities.

Mr Modi will land in Kolkata a little before 1 pm.

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The party has also cribbed about security arrangements made by the state government. "We are cooperating with the state police, but we don't have any faith in it," Mr Sinha said, sharing that about 100 cops from the Gujarat Police had visited Kolkata in separate teams to oversee the security arrangements.

Mr Modi, he said, has been briefed on four "talking points" in Kolkata  - the declassification of Netaji Subhas Bose's files, granting of citizenship to Bangladeshi refugees who enter India, the massive Saradha chit fund scam that rocked Bengal last year and alleged violence by Trinamool workers.

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In preparation for Mr Modi's visit, several former bureaucrats and police officials have joined the BJP recently, among them former Director General of Police R K Handa and noted Bengali actor Nimu Bhowmick.

23,000 people have registered online for ensured seating in a special block at the rally. One of the conditions for those registering online was that they should be between 18 and 40 years of age. Of the 23,000, four thousand have not given donations. The rest have. But BJP leaders say whether you have given a donation or not, seating in the special enclosure will be on a first come first serve basis.