Nobody can stop rath yatras in West Bengal, Amit Shah has repeatedly said.
After the BJP approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to hold its "rath yatras" in West Bengal and requested an urgent hearing today, the court declined its plea. The top court, which is closed for winter holidays, said that the matter would be listed in the normal course.
The BJP has challenged a Calcutta High Court order that set aside an order permitting the yatra.
The party intends to hold its "Save Democracy" rallies, which would cover 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state, ahead of the 2019 general elections. The rallies are supposed to be launched from three different locations in the state before converging in Kolkata.
The administration had earlier denied permission for the yatras, saying they could trigger communal clashes in the state. A plea was filed and the BJP received a go-ahead from a single-judge bench court. Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty said that it failed to see the reasoning behind the government's argument and instead asked it to ensure that no breach of law-and-order occurs during the event.
However, the state government appealed against the order before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Debasish Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar. The bench cancelled the earlier order and sent the case back to the single-judge bench with instructions that 36 intelligence inputs provided by the state administration be considered before taking a decision.
BJP's national chief Amit Shah has set a target of 22 seats for the party in the Lok Sabha election. He claims that the Mamata Banerjee government doesn't want the yatras in the state because it is "terrified" of the party making inroads in the state. "Nobody can stop rath yatras in the state," he had warned earlier.