Denied permission by the West Bengal government to land his chopper at the Malda airstrip for a rally tomorrow, BJP chief Amit Shah has decided to circumvent the issue by touching down at a private helipad in the region instead. According to a press note from the state BJP, the helicopter will now land at the Golden Park Hotels and Resorts — a property with adequate infrastructure for the purpose.

The administration’s refusal to allow Mr Shah’s helicopter to land at the Malda airstrip had snowballed into a major controversy, with the BJP citing it as an instance of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “misusing state machinery for political ends”. The government, however, maintained that the BJP president could not be allowed to land there due to ongoing renovation work.     

“As there were security issues, the police said that the chopper carrying Amit Shah should land at some other site. I also change my chopper’s landing spot on the police’s request. We granted permission for the rally because we believe in democracy. They (BJP leaders) are distorting information and misleading people,” Ms Banerjee said.

The state authorities had cited ongoing construction work to direct Mr Shah’s helicopter to another landing strip. “Upgradation work is going on, and there is sand as well as construction material lying around. Permission cannot be given because the airport is not suitable for the safe landing of helicopters. Moreover, the temporary helipad in Malda is not being maintained properly due to the ongoing construction work,” a letter from the Additional District Magistrate of Malda, dated January 20, stated.

BJP Malda district secretary Gopal Saha, in his response, wondered how the state government manages to use the Malda helipad for landing its choppers if it is in such a bad state. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that the rejection of permission amounted to “abuse of power” on the state government’s part. “Permission was denied on the grounds that renovation work is being taken up, and there is construction material littered on the runway. But Mamataji’s helicopter had landed on the same airstrip a few days ago. Some journalists went there too, and I have pictures to prove it,” he said.

Mr Shah was discharged from Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where he was being treated for swine flu, on Sunday.

(With inputs from Agencies)