Amit Shah halts speech for azan, says won't give Mamata leeway

KOLKATA: BJP president Amit Shah today stopped midway in his speech while addressing a rally here as the muezzin's call for prayers was sounded from a mosque close by and said he didn't want to give West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee an excuse against him.

"Let me stop for a while. Let it (the muezzin's call for azan) be completed. We don't want to give Mamata Banerjee an excuse against us," Shah said midway of his 30-minute speech as the azan (prayers) started.

When some BJP supporters started shouting slogans while the azan was going on, the party president raised his hands and asked them to remain silent, reiterating, "We should not give any excuse to Mamata'didi."

Shah's jibe at Banerjee came in the wake of the uncertainty about conducting BJP rally at the city's Esplanade area with the state administration and civic authorities initially denying permission and BJP knocking the doors of the High Court.