Calcutta High Court allows BJP to conduct 'rath yatra'

In a huge setback for the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court has allowed the BJP to conduct its "rath yatra".

The BJP had filed a plea against the West Bengal government's decision denying the party permission for the yatra.


The West Bengal government had cited intelligence reports claiming thret to communal harmony as the reason for not granting the permission.

The BJP, however, claimed that it's the constitutional right of the party to hold processions and that the TMC-led West Bengal government was forcibly trying to stop it.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court had asked the state government to hold discussion with three BJP representatives. After the meeting, the TMC government in West Bengal denied the permission after which the BJP moved the High Court.

In the letter to BJP on December 15, the West Bengal government said, "The areas proposed to be covered by the yatra are, because of publicity and propaganda, gradually turning into communally sensitive pockets. Intelligence reports indicate that public perception is that the religious overtones of the yatra will be turned into communal propaganda."