Smriti Irani was seen on a scooter in the Baruipur-Sonarpur area on the outskirts of Kolkata.
Calcutta:
Union Minister Smriti Irani was seen negotiating the narrow lanes of the Calcutta suburb on a scooter on Friday as part of a BJP motorcycle rally on Friday, just a day after the patron saint of Congress de Trinamool and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen driving a passenger to work.
One day, the Election Commission is expected to announce the dates for the Bengal elections, scheduled for April-May, with other states across the country, BJP big guns Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani campaigning in Mamata Banerjee territory.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will be in Balurghat with BJP Chairman Dilip Ghosh, while Ms Irani, Trade Union Minister for Textiles, took part in the rally by bicycle in Baruipur-Sonarpur area in South 24 Parganas district , a Congressional stronghold of Trinamool.
The rally, which is part of the statewide BJP “Poriborton Yatra“, was led by Ms. Irani with the deputy BJP Roopa Ganguly and Agnimitra Paul started the campaign in Gangajoara near Garia on the party”rath“- a bus decorated with slogans and photos of the leaders.
After walking a short distance, the minister got off the ”rathand took a scooter, wearing a black helmet, but had to make occasional stops as staunch supporters gathered, choking the road.
Smriti Irani led a BJP cycling rally on the southern outskirts of Kolkata.
“When we started the ‘rath yatra’ today, the administration deliberately tried to delay it. We are going to ride two wheels, walk on foot because West Bengal is moving towards change,” said Ms. Irani, quoted by the PTI news agency. .
Dozens of BJP workers followed Ms. Irani on two-wheelers, chanting “Jai Shri Ram“and”Khela hobeyWhich means ‘play on’ – a slogan first raised by the Trinamool Congress, which has now become the slogan for this election season.
“I want to thank everyone. We went out today to take your blessings. You have already given Prime Minister Narendra Modi an opportunity and in the West Bengal elections, bless the BJP and the ‘Lotus’,” he said. Ms. Irani said.
Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim mocked the conduct of the BJP leader. “She was driving a gasoline vehicle. Obviously, she doesn’t care that fuel prices keep going up,” he said. Other Trinamool executives said it was an act of copying
Mamata Banerjee arrived at work on an electric scooter one day ago. Known for her modest image of ‘Santro’, the West Bengal chief minister has taken things up – or perhaps down – to convey the skyrocketing fuel prices.
In the run-up to the state assembly polls, his run was an indication that Trinamool’s congressional leader was not going to let go of any opportunity to attack the BJP which has relentlessly harassed his government over the years. the last few months.
Ms Banerjee’s Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Firhad Hakim, drove the battery scooter with her passenger. A considerable stretch of the five-kilometer journey from the Hazra More locality of Calcutta to the Secretary of State in Nabanna crossed the Second Bridge of the Hooghly River or Vidyasagar Setu. The entire trip was broadcast via Facebook Live. Later, the Chief Minister addressed the media, sitting on an electric scooter or a battery powered scooter.
“Kerosene is not available. A million people in Bengal use it. Gasoline-diesel (prices are) on the rise. Fill up with gasoline … even last night. That’s why I decided to take the scooter to work, ”she said.
Fuel prices have increased dramatically across the country in recent weeks. In Calcutta, for example, gasoline costs Rs 91.12 and a bottle of cooking gas costs Rs 820.25, increasing to Rs 100 this month.