BJP & its national President have become nervous, tense. Their programme for Aug 3 in Kolkata was promptly granted… https://t.co/kKbAXGtgjp — Derek O'Brien (@derekobrienmp) 1533119317000

(With inputs from agencies)

NEW DELHI: BJP president Amit Shah today dared the West Bengal government to arrest him amid reports that his party has been denied permission to hold a rally in Kolkata."It does not matter whether I get permission or not, I will definitely go to Kolkata. If the state government wants, it can arrest me," Shah said.However, shortly after Shah's remark, Kolkata police clarified that a permission for holding the rally was "already" granted."Some unwarranted speculation in social media about denial of permission to a political party on 11 August has come to our notice. It is to clarify that on request, permission for meeting has already been granted," Kolkata Police was quoted as saying by ANI.Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brian later confirmed that permission for both the rallies of BJP, scheduled for August 3 and 11, have been granted.A BJP Yuva Morcha's statement earlier today appears to have stirred the confusion.The party’s youth wing president Debjit Sarkar told PTI that they have submitted a formal application to police, seeking permission for Shah's rally. "We will move court if police deny permission," he said.Sarkar said that the city police is yet to respond to their request. "We submitted an application to police yesterday, seeking permission for the rally. We have mentioned five venues in Kolkata for the meeting, but police are yet to give us permission. We need time to prepare for the rally.Later in the day, the city police, without naming the BJP, said that it has been granted the permission.