Kolkata: Police on Sunday stopped West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh from visiting the cyclone-ravaged areas of the East Midnapore district, the second time in two days, triggering a war of words between the saffron party and the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Sources in the BJP said Ghosh was on his way to Nandakumar, Haldia and Kanthi, which were among the worst-affected areas in the district, to distribute relief materials, when his convoy was stopped midway in Tamluk. A minor scuffle broke out between the police personnel and BJP workers, following which Ghosh left in a huff.
Police, on its part, said the saffron party leader did not have necessary permit to visit the cyclone-hit areas. "TMC leaders had been visiting the affected areas of East Midnapore. Police wouldn't stop them. The rule somehow changes for the BJP leaders," Ghosh said.
The BJP MP also claimed that the state doesn't want the country to know about its "failure" in combating the crisis, and was "indulging in politics to keep the truth from coming out". "Four days have passed since the cyclone wreaked havoc, but the state government has failed to reach out to the distressed. Now that we are trying to help those people, it would not let us. The TMC should stop indulging in petty politics in this hour of crisis," he insisted.