Calcutta HC grants BJP permission to conduct rally in Bengal's Siliguri city on July 21

Kolkata, July 17 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, permitted the state unit of the BJP in West Bengal to conduct a rally at Siliguri city in Darjeeling district of West Bengal on July 21, to protest against the rising incidents of crime against women in different pockets of the state.

Incidentally, Trinamool Congress will be organising its annual Martyrs’ Day rally in central Kolkata on the same day.

The Siliguri Police Commiserate, however, denied permission to the BJP rally to be led by the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari. The state unit of the BJP, thereafter, approached the single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, challenging the order from the Siliguri Police Commiserate denying permission for the rally.

On Thursday, finally, the single-judge bench gave permission for the rally, but imposed some conditions for conducting the same. The first condition was that there should not be an assembly of more than 10,000 people at the rally.

The single-judge bench also said that the processions that should participate in the rally should be conducted from one side, after leaving adequate space for free traffic movement. The timing for the entire programme would be between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Justice Ghosh also directed the organisers of the rally to ensure that their political programmes do not create inconvenience for the people or result in any law and order problem.

The state BJP leaders said that it had become a normal practice for the police to deny permission for any political programme of the opposition parties.

“Subsequently, we get permission for the same from the court every time. However, such actions on the part of the police prove how spineless their top officials have become,” he said.

Trinamool Congress leader, however, claimed that as a political party, they do not have any association with any administrative or police decision.

--IANS

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