Mamata Banerjee, the chief of West Bengal state, is rallying regional parties and the main opposition Congress to forge an alliance to beat Modi in elections expected in the next couple of months. Modi's government has denied any wrongdoing and said West Bengal authorities had obstructed investigators and even briefly detained them. "This dharna [sit-in protest] is a victory for the people, victory for the country, victory for the democracy, victory for the constitution. Some opposition leaders including the chief minister of southern Andhra Pradesh state, N Chandrababu Naidu, visited her to express support while others said they backed her campaign against Modi. "TMC is afraid of the growing influence of the BJP in West Bengal and thus is trying to create a hype through this protest," said Dilip Ghosh, state chief of the BJP.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 05, 2019 17:15 UTC