Post-poll violence: Bengal govt allows LoP to stage protest in front of Raj Bhavan

Kolkata: West Bengal Advocate General, Kishore Datta, on Thursday informed the Calcutta High Court that the state government was willing to give conditional approval to Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari to protest in front of Raj Bhavan against post-poll violence.

Datta informed the single-judge Bench of Justice Amrita Sinha that LoP Adhikari can be allowed to protest in front of the Raj Bhavan for four hours on June 30, which is a Sunday.

However, Adhikari’s counsel immediately objected to the date and said organising the demonstration on June 30 would not be possible for his client.

Thereafter, Datta informed the court that in case of a change in date he would have to get back to it after consulting with the authorities concerned.

Expressing displeasure, Justice Sinha said, “Postponing the hearing again and again is not a good practice. Because of political cases, other cases often get hampered. This court has to say that there is no reason to trust whatever politicians say.”

Initially, the police refused to give permission to Adhikari to stage the dharna and he approached the court arguing that the police gave permission for a similar demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan last year.

However, the court directed the LoP to come to it with another spot and Adhikari’s counsel informed the court that his client had chosen the street in front of the office of the Director General of Police as the alternative venue.

Now, the situation has taken a different turn as the government has informed the court that it is willing to give conditional approval for the demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan.