The state-level friction between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress took a dramatic turn on Tuesday after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s scheduled visit to Kolkata on April 23 was cancelled.
His party claimed that at the request of the TMC, the local administration, specifically the police, did not grant permission for the visit. According to Congress, the party waited until 6 pm on Tuesday, April 21; But since permission was not granted, preparations for the event could no longer be made.
Rahul Gandhi is still keen on a visit to Bengal; Therefore, a fresh application for administrative permission will be submitted either on April 25 or 26, news agency ANI reported, citing Congress sources.
What TMC said
TMC Minister Shashi Banga responded by saying that requests for public meetings should be sent through the Suvidha portal “2-7 days before the public meeting”.
“This rule applies to all public meetings. All political parties must obtain such permission,” she said.
Moreover, she said that the TMC government was currently a caretaker and could therefore respond to his visit: “The Election Commission can respond to that.”
The European Commission had no reaction at the time of submitting this report.
The Congress and the TMC have coordinated as opposition parties against the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, and Mamata Banerjee was briefly part of the India bloc as well, but in Bengal they remain at loggerheads. The Congress party is contesting alone in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, having not allied with the Left Front either.
The BJP is the main opposition in the state and is running an aggressive campaign.
