No Rath Yatra in West Bengal now, High Court defers order by a week
The saffron party had scheduled three Rath Yatras in West Bengal which were to pass through all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state
A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Saturday, December 7, while hearing a review petition of the BJP seeking permission for its Rath Yatra in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, asked the West Bengal government to hold a meeting of all parties involved in the court proceeding i.e. the BJP, the state government and the district administration and submit the decision of the meeting by next Friday, i.e December 14. Basically, that means there is no Rath Yatra which is taking place immediately in the state.
A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused permission to the BJP for holding a Rath Yatra in Cooch Behar, which was to be flagged off by party president Amit Shah on December 7.
The West Bengal government has refused to allow the event, saying it may cause communal tension.
The state government had further told the court that the district had a history of communal issues and that there was information that some communal provocateurs and rowdy elements had become active there.
The Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police's refusal letter also noted that several top BJP leaders would come to the district, as also people from other states, stating that these may affect the communally sensitive district.
The single-judge bench of the court had directed superintendents of police of all districts in West Bengal to file a report before the court on holding of Rath Yatras, peremptorily by December 21, after hearing all the district presidents of BJP.
The saffron party had scheduled three Rath Yatras in West Bengal which were to pass through all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
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