'Don't try to play with me': Mamata alleges political sabotage in helicopter ride cancellation

Bongaon: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the BJP of being involved in sabotage in the cancellation of her helicopter ride to Bongaon, warning the opposition party not to "play" with her as she could not be cornered.

Banerjee, who was scheduled to land in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas at 12.30 pm, said she was informed at 10 am that the hired helicopter "would not fly", forcing her to travel by road.

She eventually reached the place around 2 pm to address a massive rally, amid growing panic among people over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

A top bureaucrat, however, said Banerjee's planned helicopter ride to Bongaon for a political rally on Tuesday was cancelled after officials discovered that the aircraft assigned for the trip was operating with an expired licence.

Banerjee travelled to Bongaon in the North 24 Parganas district, around 104 km from Kolkata, by road instead.

"For the last seven-eight months, I did not travel by helicopter. Today I had planned to come here and then go to Thakurnagar. Everything was booked in advance. But at 10 in the morning, the message came that the helicopter won't go!" she said, alleging "political reasons" behind the cancellation.

Turning the inconvenience into a campaign pitch, Banerjee said the road journey allowed her to come into spontaneous contact with people.

"Before elections begin, they have started creating hurdles. But it didn't help them. In fact, it helped me. On the way, I met so many people. It became a great public outreach," Banerjee said.

Sharpening her attack, the Trinamool Congress supremo warned the BJP against attempts to intimidate her.

"Don't try to play with me. You won't be able to fight and defeat me politically," she said, noting that she mostly travelled by road and was "not dependent" on helicopters.

"I cannot be cornered," she declared.

Her remarks came as 35 deaths, some reportedly by suicide, have been linked to fear and anxiety triggered by the SIR verification process in Bengal's refugee belts.

Promising to "fight till the end", she accused the BJP and Election Commission of creating an atmosphere of fear through the SIR process and warned that Bengal would resist any attempt to "snatch away" citizens' rights.