RUDRAPUR/NINITAL: Bad weather conditions prevented PM Modi from addressing a public rally at Rudrapur on Thursday, leaving thousands of people who had gathered for the event, disappointed. The PM however addressed the gathering through CM Trivendra Singh Rawat's mobile and offered his apologies for not being able to make it to the venue. "I had reached Uttarakhand in the morning itself but was stopped from being amongst all of you due to inclement weather. I can hear your voices and know that you are present in large numbers," the PM said. He added that "soon, there will be more employment options for the youth of Uttarakhand." "People have been benefited by schemes like 'Ayushman Bharat', 'Jandhan Yojana', 'Ujjwala Gas Yojana' and 'Kisan Fasal Beema Yojana' run by the central government. We are also launching a comprehensive development programme for Uttarakhand today," Modi said, while declaring the commencement of the Deendayal Upadhyaya Co-operative Farmer Welfare Scheme. The scheme aims to give a boost to the co-operative, farming and allied sectors, and check forced migration from the hills. Earlier, at around 7.15 am, the PM arrived at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun where he was forced to wait for around four hours since overcast conditions and intermittent rain prevented his onward travel to Kumaon. He finally left Dehradun around 11.30 am on a MI-17 chopper, reaching Kalagarh near the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) around 12 noon. The PM attended a meeting of Global Tiger Forum and then took a boat to cross the Ramganga river to reach the Dhikala zone of the reserve. "The PM discussed with us the challenges in the field of conservation as well as human-wildlife conflict. He also enquired about the issues faced by the forest department regarding conservation of environment and wildlife," said Rahul, director of CTR. The PM was scheduled to reach Rudrapur after his Corbett visit but when the weather did not clear till late evening, his plans were cancelled. Meanwhile, thousands of people who had gathered at the rally venue were disappointed when it became evident around 5 pm that the PM would not be coming. An octogenarian, Ram Kumar Pal, from Rampura colony in Rudrapur, blamed the organisers for "choosing a day when rain had been predicted by meteorologists." "I kept waiting for the PM for more than six hours. The arrangements at the rally venue were bad. BJP leaders could have announced the cancellation of the programme on time but they continued with their speeches. I find myself cheated," Pal said. The Rudrapur district administration had chosen 13 persons and organisations to be awarded loans under the Integrated Co-operative Development Project (ICDP) of the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC) which is going to provide a loan of Rs 3,632 crore to the Uttarakhand government. The beneficiaries also expressed disappointment that they were not able to interact with the PM. Facebook Twitter Linkedin EMail<doc-sep>PM Narendra Modi will hold a mega rally in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district today (File) The battle in Bengal between the grand alliance and the BJP is set to intensify today as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address his third mega rally on chief minister Mamata Banerjee's turf. PM Modi's mega rally in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district today aims to give a thrust to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign blitzkrieg ahead of this year's Lok Sabha election. Tensions between Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is part of the 'mahagathbandhan' or 'grand alliance', and the BJP reached a new high in the last few days with Ms Banerjee accusing Prime Minister Modi of misusing the CBI against the police chief in Kolkata. PM Modi's rally today comes days after Mamata Banerjee called off her sit-in protest against "politically motivated" attempts by the CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation to question Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case in which several top Trinamool Congress leaders are allegedly involved. Tensions between the BJP and Trinamool Congress rose further after Ms Banerjee refused to grant permission to senior leaders of the BJP from campaigning in West Bengal. The chief minister repeatedly denied permission for their helicopters to land at the rally grounds. The BJP protested this move by calling Mamata Banerjee "undemocratic". Holding an election rally is the constitutional right of every political party, they said. Ahead of his rally, sources in the BJP told news agency Press Trust of India that PM Modi will use the platform in Jalpaiguri district, close to the border with Bangladesh, to give a "fitting" reply to Mamata Banerjee's accusations, while trying to galvanize the party cadre for the crucial elections. "Apart from the message to the party cadre, we are hopeful that Modiji would also give a fitting reply to the TMC's unconstitutional dharna (protest)," a senior BJP leader said. However, BJP's state general secretary Raju Banerjee claimed that local Trinamool leaders were warning bus operators against allowing their vehicles to carry BJP party supporters to the rally ground. "They (TMC workers) are also keeping a watch on people who are likely to attend the rally (in order to threaten them)," Mr Banerjee claimed. Trinamool legislator Sourav Chakraborty, however, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". While addressing a rally in Durgapur last week, PM Modi had branded the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal as "extortionist" which was run by a "corrupt syndicate", and called for its ouster. BATTLEGROUND BENGAL Raising the stakes for the Lok Sabha elections dramatically, Mamata Banerjee became a rallying point for the 23 other anti-BJP parties, who threw their weight behind her as she sat on protest for 46 hours against the Modi government's alleged attempts to "stifle the spirit of the Constitution and federalism". Last month, 23 opposition parties came together at the "United India Rally" organised by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to reiterate their resolve to defeat the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had won just two of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general elections. This time BJP chief Amit Shah has set an ambitious target of 23. 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Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's press conference was cancelled today. After 20 CRPF personnel were killed in a terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwama, the Congress today cancelled Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's press conference. "After the attack in Pulwama, I think it is inappropriate for us to be having political discussions.To all the families of soldiers killed in the attack, we want to tell you we are with you in this difficult hour. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you," she said. Condemning the attack on a CRPF convoy in which at least 20 men died, PM Modi tweeted, "The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs. May the injured recover quickly". Due to bad weather. PM Modi cancelled his rally in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal starred in an opposition meeting in Delhi on Wednesday evening that decided on a pre-poll alliance to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP in the national election. The leaders are expected to work closely together despite their earlier differences, to form a united front against the BJP in the coming general elections. Here are the highlights of today's election rallies and press conferences Feb 14, 2019 19:21 (IST) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's press conference cancelled after Pulwama attack Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's press conference cancelled after Pulwama attack Feb 14, 2019 17:20 (IST) Update: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a public rally in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand through mobile phone; due to bad weather (news agency ANI) Feb 14, 2019 17:05 (IST) Rahul Gandhi greets people at his rally in Valsad, Gujarat Feb 14, 2019 17:03 (IST) "I promised to waive off loans in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh within 10 days of forming the government. I am proud to say that it didn't take 10 days": Rahul Gandhi Feb 14, 2019 16:19 (IST) #WATCH A woman kisses Congress President Rahul Gandhi during a rally in Valsad, #Gujaratpic.twitter.com/RqIviTAvZ9 - ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2019 Feb 14, 2019 16:17 (IST) "PM Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley say that medium and small businessmen are thieves. They call Anil Ambani, Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi businessmen," Rahul Gandhi said. Feb 14, 2019 16:05 (IST) Rahul Gandhi at Valsad, Gujarat The entire nation is saying "chowkidar chor hai" but PM Modi is silent. I asked him the price of Rafale jets in the new agreement, why HAL was sidelined and why Ambani was given the deal. He could not look me in the eye and answer these questions. Whenever Gujarat will call me, ask me be ready to work for the state. The entire nation is saying "chowkidar chor hai" but PM Modi is silent. Feb 14, 2019 15:59 (IST) Rahul Gandhi hits out at PM Modi over the Rafale deal The slogan ''chowkidar chor hai'' (the sentry is the thief) is also famous in France. Even former the former French president says ''Chowkidar chor hai".