Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday sent a legal notice to Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah over his statements at a rally in Kolkata on Saturday, reported ANI. The party had earlier said Shah’s Yuva Swabhiman Samavesh rally, aimed at boosting the BJP’s presence in West Bengal ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, was a “flop show”.

The party said Shah made defamatory statements and insinuations at the rally. The BJP president had alleged that the Centre’s aid of Rs 3.59 lakh crore to West Bengal ended up with some syndicates and TMC legislator Abhishek Banerjee, who is also Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew. He also accused the Trinamool Congress of spreading scams in the state despite coming to power on the poll promise of uprooting corruption.

He had also alleged that the signals of all Bengali channels “had been lowered so that people will not be able to watch us”. The Trinamool Congress had denied Shah’s allegation that the state government had blocked the TV coverage of his rally. “After the flop meeting, BJP is looking for excuses,” the party had said in a statement. “Black-outs and blackmailing is what BJP does. Do not insult the media.”

Party leader Derek O’Brien had said that they would resort to legal action if Shah does not apologise within 72 hours. “He doesn’t understand the culture of Bengal and even insulted it with his blatant lies,” O’Brien had said.