PM to address 5 rallies in WB during rath yatra; if it is stopped there will be a new format

New Delhi, Dec 7: West Bengal is one of the states in the country where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eying a big gains in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and further in the next Assembly polls. So the party is working in the same direction with a strategy. In one such plans, the BJP considers organising at least five rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Rath Yatra that it has planed in the state.

The BJP leaders have been planning to take out rath yatra in the state formally known as Ganatantra Bachao Jatra (rally to save democracy) even if the administration denies it permission. The matter has gone to the court and if the court allows to Rath Yatra, the PM will have at least five rallies during the course of the yatra else the format will be changed. Originally the BJP was planning to organise several rath yatras starting at the same time to culminate at one place where a big public rally was planned. However, Calcutta High Court has denied permission to hold a rath yatra which was to be flagged off by party president Amit Shah from Cooch Behar on December 7.

The court ruled that the rath yatra cannot take place till the next date of hearing that is January 9, 2019 when it would consider reports from the 24 districts through which the rally has to pass. Actually the court has deferred the rally until the Superintended of Police of respective districts speaks to BJP president of that particular district and file its report by December 21.

The HC has passed order that by December 21, the Superintendent of Police of respective districts will speak to district Presidents of BJP and file a report on January 9, 2019 before the HC of Calcutta. Till then HC has deferred the rally. The BJP will be approaching a division bench against Calcutta High Court's order. "We will be going to division bench morning. We will seek justice that any peaceful democratic movement is permissible under Indian Constitution," West Bengal BJP vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar said.

The Mamata Banerjee government informed the high court that would not give its approval for the rath yatra. The state's advocate general informed a bench of justice Tapabrata Chakraborty about the decision. "In a democratic set up all political parties are at liberty to pursue their programme. The government has no business stopping it," said Dilip Ghosh, president of the BJP's West Bengal unit, before the hearing.

The BJP has accused the West Bengal government for causing hurdle in the way of rally and want to drag it to the time when elections for the Lok Sabha are announced. But they cannot stop the rally of the PM.