Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday held the Trinamul government and its party apparatus responsible for the attack on the convoy of BJP national president Jagat Prasad Nadda while it was on its way to Diamond Harbour on December 10.

The attack on Nadda’s convoy, which triggered a fierce sate-Centre confrontation, was the first issue that he broached in his opening remarks at a news conference here on Sunday evening before leaving for Delhi.

“The BJP condemns the attack on the convoy of BJP’s national president... The state government and the Trinamul supporters were responsible for it. I think the attack was not only on the national president of the largest political party in the country, but the attack was on the democracy of Bengal,” he said.

Shah said the Union government had attached three Bengal IPS officers for central deputation “as per the rule”.

“The step of the central government is constitutional and as per the rule. It was done following the federal structure,” Shah said.

Unlike Nadda, Shah’s Bengal visit, which included a road show along a narrow road in Bolpur, passed off without any trouble.

The mega road show in Bolpur was “unprecedented” and posed a serious challenge to the force because of the turnout along the road through which Shah’s convoy passed, said a senior police officer.

Police sources said over 1,100 cops, including 50 senior officers, were brought from different districts over and above Birbhum’s force and deployed at every strategic point. Around 1,000 civic volunteers were also deployed across Bolpur.

The sources said the police took the unprecedented decision of stopping traffic in the small varsity town as a precautionary measure.

“We can’t assess the footfall today in the roadshow of our home minister Amit Ji. I can only say that there were around a lakh people in town and more than a few thousand could not enter Bolpur,” said Shyamapada Mondal, Birbhum BJP president.

Trinamul, however, countered that BJP claim and said thousands of people were brought from neighbouring Jharkhand, West Burdwan and East Burdwan.

“I am showing you the photos of buses and cars that came from Jharkhand, West Burdwan and other places,” said Anubrata Mondal, Trinamul president in Birbhum who showed several photographs from his mobile phone of buses registered in Jharkhand and other places.