The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to permit the Bharatiya Janata Party from holding a rath yatra in West Bengal, ANI reported. The top court was hearing the saffron party’s appeal against a Calcutta High Court order restraining the party from conducting the yatra.
However, the top court said the West Bengal BJP unit can conduct meetings and rallies. If the saffron party comes out with a revised plan for the yatra, the court said it might consider the matter again.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the BJP's Bengal unit to submit a revised schedule of its proposed 'Rath Yatra' seek necessary approvals from the authorities. The bench also asked the state government to consider the revised schedule, keeping in mind the fundamental right of speech and expression under the constitution.
Earlier on December 21, a division bench of the High Court set aside an earlier judgment by a single bench that allowed the party to hold the rallies, which are expected to cover all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state.
BJP President Amit Shah was initially scheduled to launch the statewide programme at a public rally in Cooch Behar on December 7. The Trinamool Congress-led government on December 15 had refused permission citing intelligence reports that allegedly warned of possible communal violence in areas where the saffron party planned to hold the events.
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