The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted permission to the Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing to hold ‘Pratirodh Sankalp Avijan’ across West Bengal to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
The BJP’s youth wing had approached the court after the police refused to grant permission to the 1,600-km motorbike rally from Contai in Purba Medinipur to Cooch Behar district in north Bengal.
In a letter to Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha president Debjit Sarkar, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Anuj Sharma urged him to refrain from organising the rally pointing out that it will cause disruption to the smooth movement of pilgrims visiting the State on account of Gangasagar mela.
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Mr. Sarkar approached the High Court. After hearing both sides, Justice Debangsu Basak allowed permission to the rally on a condition that proper traffic guidelines be followed and the district and police administration should be informed in advance. The rally is scheduled between January 11 and 18.
During the hearing, Advocate General Kishore Dutta said permission was denied due to the ongoing Gangasagar mela for which a large number of police personnel were deployed and therefore it was difficult to provide security to the rally. Counsel for petitioners said the Rashtriya Swayamseveak Sangh held a rally at Brigade parade grounds during Gangasagar in 2017 and the denial of permission was only due to political reasons.
The State government is likely to challenge the order at the High Court on Thursday. This is not the first time that the BJP had to approach the High Court over denial of permission by the West Bengal police.
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Later addressing a meeting to mark the Gangasagar mela in the city, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the BJP was using the name of Swami Vivekananda but had done nothing for him or the Hindu religion.
“They [the BJP] say that they will bring out a rath. This is when pilgrims are visiting the State from all across the country. I do not like such politics,” she said.