KOLKATA: In a setback to the BJP after initial delight, the Calcutta High Court on Friday again halted the BJP’s proposed rath yatra in West Bengal. A day after Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty greenlighted the party’s Save Democracy Yatra with certain conditions, a division bench red-flagged it and sent the case back to the single bench. Hearing an appeal filed by the state government against Thursday’s order, the bench of Chief Justice Debashish Kar Gupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar asked the single judge to hear the matter afresh after considering security and intelligence inputs.
The Mamata Banerjee government had sought an urgent hearing of the appeal. It contended that the single judge passed the order allowing the yatra without going through the security reports. State Advocate General Kishore Dutta argued that the sealed envelopes in which the reports of 31 police districts, five commissioners of police, chief secretary, home secretary and DGP were given, were not opened.
The state government had earlier denied permission for the yatra, saying they could trigger communal clashes. Appearing for the state police, Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the yatra had a communal agenda and submitted photographs of wall murals of the yatra.
The BJP, which had planned to start the yatra from Saturday, has decided to hold protest rallies across the state from Saturday. It is also planning to knock at the doors of the Supreme Court. “We are looking into all legal possibilities, including moving the SC,” state BJP leader Jay Prakash Mazumdar said. Reacting to the judgment, panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee said the BJP was trying to push its communal agenda through the yatra.