NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday her government gave the permission to BJP president Amit Shah, who will address a rally in Malda on Tuesday, to use a helipad in the town as they believe in democracy. The district administration in Malda allowed Shah to use the helipad after refusing to let his helicopter to land there citing safety issues, alleged the state unit of BJP. The ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP had disputes over the opposition party’s planned rath yatras in the state. Later BJP decided to conduct path yatra.

“The BJP are trying to mislead people through falsehood. Allegations that the government denied permission to Amit Shah are baseless. Even as a CM, my helicopter had to change landing spot”, Mamata said.

The temporary helipad is not maintained properly due to this ongoing construction work. In this situation, Malda Airport is not suitable for safe landing of helicopters, explain the authorities.