The BJP received a shot in the arm on Thursday as the Calcutta High Court allowed the party to hold three rath yatras in West Bengal, for which permission had been denied by the Mamata banerjee led Trinamool Congress government.
The state government cited ‘intelligence reports’ which said that efforts were on to disrupt the communal harmony in the state. The BJP had moved court after the permission was denied.
Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the BJP to inform superintendents of police of the districts 12 hours in advance about the yatra. It also asked the administration to ensure law and order during the yatra events. The court also directed to ensure that the rath yatra does not impede normal vehicular traffic.
The BJP was cautioned against loss or damage to property that might be caused due to the rath yatra. The justice also directed that the police shall deploy adequate force to ensure that there is no breach of law and order.
According to a PTI report, the BJP has set new dates for its rath yatra. The ‘rath yatra’, touted as the “save democracy rally”, is now being proposed to held on Saturday, next Monday and Wednesday, said state Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar. The dates were also communicated to the high court.
The Mamata Banerjee-led government had on Saturday denied permission for the BJP’s ‘rath yatra’ on the ground that it might cause communal tension.
The ‘rath yatra’ was scheduled to start from Cooch Behar district on December 7, but was stalled, following which the BJP had knocked on the high court’s door.
BJP president Amit Shah was scheduled to flag off three chariots from as many places. The chariots were meant to travel across the state’s 42 parliamentary constituencies over the next one-and-a-half months before concluding in Kolkata, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was likely to address a rally.
—India Legal Bureau