Bengal BJP chief unapologetic over denying passage for ambulance during rally

Ghosh asked the ambulance to take a diversion as hundreds of people were at the rally

Dilip Ghosh Salil Dilip Ghosh | Salil Bera

BJP MP Dilip Ghosh, who is head of the party unit in West Bengal, is being criticised for refusing to allow passage to an ambulance during a public meeting of the party at Nadia district.

According to reports, hundreds of BJP supporters were present at a rally being addressed by Ghosh on a busy road on Monday when an ambulance with its siren blaring arrived.

Instead of asking people to make way for the ambulance, Ghosh asked the ambulance to take a diversion as "hundreds of people are sitting here". Ghosh even blamed the ruling Trinamool Congress for being behind the incident. Ghosh alleged, "They [TMC] are doing this on purpose. It is their tactic to disrupt the rally."

The ambulance turned and took another route to the hospital. Times Now reported that the ambulance was not empty and was carrying a patient to hospital.

But in an interaction with Times Now on Tuesday, Ghosh claimed the ambulance was empty, even though he was standing on a stage without clear sight of the vehicle. Ghosh even told Times Now that “Drugs and gold are being smuggled using the ambulance in West Bengal. Criminals and bombs are transported through ambulance here."

Ghosh even told Times Now he would do do the same act of diverting an ambulance again and declared "this is Bengal politics", alleging it was a ploy by the TMC.

During Ghosh's tenure as chief of the BJP, the party has seen a surge in popularity. However, Ghosh has been panned for making controversial utterances. In November, Ghosh had claimed the milk of native 'desi' cows had gold in it. Ghosh even asked beef eaters to eat dog meat. In 2018, Ghosh threatened to chop off the heads and legs of Trinamool Congress workers if they resorted to violence.