BJP’s rath yatra in Bengal still on hold

In Cooch Behar, north Bengal, posters and flags of the Trinamool Congress beside BJP hoardings and banners on NH-31, on December 6.

The much-hyped rath yatra planned by the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal still remains uncertain as the new dates for the programme are yet to be finalised. After a meeting between the BJP leadership and top State government officials on December 13, State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said: “We told the officials that we wish to adhere to the route of the yatra we had submitted to them earlier, only the dates will have to be changed. [We told them] the day you give us the go ahead, within a few days we will organise everything, as we will have to seek the appointment of our national leaders. The government officials said they would let us know of their decision at the right time…. As of now everything is on hold.”

The meeting was held on the direction of the Calcutta High Court and was attended by Dilip Ghosh, BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, and senior party leader Mukul Roy. The State government was represented by Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De, Home Secretary Atri Bhattacharya and Director General of Police Virendra. According to Ghosh, the Chief Secretary sought clarification as to whether the proposed rath yatra would be a “religious affair”. “I told him, it was a completely political programme, and hence we are calling it Save Democracy yatra,” said Ghosh.

The 41-day rath yatra was supposed to be kicked off by BJP president Amit Shah on December 7 from Cooch Behar in north Bengal and cover all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the State. However, the programme, designed to give a boost to the BJP’s prospects in the State ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had to be put on hold as the State government refused to give permission. The BJP had apparently sent its application to the State government as early as October 29, but was denied permission at the last moment on December 6.

The party received a further setback when it moved the Calcutta High Court on December 7 and the court directed it to defer the yatra until the next hearing on January 9. The court had taken into consideration inputs from the State intelligence and the administration that the rath yatra might affect communal harmony in the State. However, the following day, a division bench set aside the order by the single bench and directed the State administration and the police to hold a meeting to discuss the proposed rath yatra with three representatives of the BJP by December 14.