Bengal Govt challenges HC’s permission for BJP rally in Kolkata

Kolkata: The West Bengal Government on Wednesday approached a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court against an earlier court order overruling the denial of permission by police for BJP’s rally in central Kolkata.

The November 29 mega rally was supposed to be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

On November 20, the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court not only allowed the BJP to conduct the rally on November 29 at the same venue in central Kolkata, where the ruling Trinamool Congress holds its annual ‘Martyrs’ Day’ rally but also made some negative observations about the denial of police permission on this count.

Observing that in an independent country, anyone has the freedom to go anywhere Justice Mantha also raised questions about the justification of the denial of police permission for the same.

On Wednesday, the government approached the Division Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya and challenged the earlier decision of the Single-Judge Bench.

The Division Bench had admitted the petition from the state government. The matter will come up for hearing as early as possible.

The proposed rally of the BJP has been organised to highlight alleged irregularities by the state government in implementing the centrally-sponsored 100-day job scheme under MGNREGA.

Besides Shah, the party has also invited Union Minister of State for Rural Development Giriraj Singh and the State Minister Niranjan Jyoti.