'If not for CRPF cover, I wouldn't have come back alive,' says Amit Shah

New Delhi, May 15: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Wednesday accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of creating an atmosphere of violence in West Bengal.

He said that it was the TMC and not the BJP that was behind the violence seen in West Bengal during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"In the last six phases, only Bengal has witnessed violence. Mamata Banerjee claims that BJP is behind the violence [in Bengal]. I want to tell her you are fighting on just 42 seats. We are fighting across the country. We are pitted against everyone but there has been no violence elsewhere," Amit Shah said.

Amit Shah also said he would not have escaped unhurt without CRPF protection when his convoy was allegedly attacked in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Shah said, "Our popularity in Kolkata and Bengal has given Mamata didi the jitters that is why she has resorted to extreme measures." Shah said that when his party has lost 60 cadres in the political violence in state, an attack on him was not unexpected. He said, "If it weren't for the team of CRPF deployed in my security, I might not have come back alive from the violence."

Shah also alleged that the Election Commission (EC) has been a "mute spectator". "EC has banned UP CM Yogi Adityanath and many others for making speeches that they felt are inappropriate...but what did EC do when Mamata threatened PM and BJP?" Amit Shah questioned.

Supporters of the BJP and the TMC fought pitched battles on the streets of Kolkata during a massive road show by former's president Amit Shah, who escaped unhurt but was forced to cut short the jamboree and had to be escorted to safety by the police.