The proposed "Rath Yatras" of the BJP in West Bengal were put on hold on Tuesday. (File) The West Bengal unit of the BJP has decided to seek permission for 10 to 12-day long four-phased ''Rath Yatras'' from the state government, a senior party leader said Wednesday. A fresh itinerary of the ''Rath Yatras'', in accordance with the directives of the Supreme Court, will be submitted to the government. The proposed "Rath Yatras" of the BJP in West Bengal were put on hold on Tuesday by the Supreme Court, which asked the party to seek a fresh approval from the Mamata Banerjee government in the state by submitting a revised proposal, saying the law-and-order apprehensions were not "totally unfounded". "We have decided to submit the new 10 to 12-day schedule of four-phased ''Rath Yatras'' to the state government. Let us see whether the state gives us permission or not," BJP state vice president Jai Prakash Majumdar said. According to the proposal, four chariots will begin their journey from four venues -- Coochbehar, Kakdwip (South 24 Parganas), Krishnanagar (Nadia) and Birbhum district. The state BJP leadership, however, declined to give the exact dates of the ''yatras'' they are planning to submit to the state government. "Initially, our proposal was for a 40-day long yatra. The state declined to give us permission. Then we submitted a 20-day-long schedule which too was declined permission. So now, we will submit a 10 to 12-day long yatra (schedule)," another senior BJP leader said. The top court had put the BJP's proposed ''Rath Yatras'' on hold, but allowed the West Bengal unit of the party to continue with its proposed public rallies and meetings under its ''Ganatantra Bachao Yatra". The SC bench, in its verdict, asked the Trinamool Congress government in the state to consider the fresh, revised proposal of the BJP keeping in mind the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution. It also said that the government should respond to the revised proposal of the BJP with "utmost expedition", keeping in mind that with the commencement of the CBSE and other board examinations, use of loudspeakers might be banned<doc-sep>NEW DELHI: BJP has planned processions covering all 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal over 20 days. The rath yatras were to start simultaneously from four different parts of the state. The Bengal government is opposed to the yatras as it fears they would disturb communal harmony and create law and order problems.The SC asked the state government to consider BJP's proposal in the right spirit as it was the fundamental right of a party to hold peaceful protests and take out processions in a democracy. "Once such a proposal is submitted, the state government will consider the matter and pass appropriate orders keeping in mind that the present involves a case of exercise of the fundamental rights, under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It is in that spirit that we expect the state government to deal with the matter on receipt of such revised proposal as may be submitted," a bench of CJ Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L Nageswara Rao and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.Appearing for West Bengal, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the government would allow BJP to hold meetings in different parts of the state but it could not allow moving processions as they would pass through sensitive areas.Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, opposed the contention and said it was wrong on the part of the state to say that BJP was communal and insisted that no part of the proposed programme was communal. He said the state government was denying permission on the basis of "bogus" intelligence reports and a political party could not be restrained from holding peaceful rallies.<doc-sep>The SC was hearing the BJP's plea to hold the rally led by Amit Shah that would cover 42 Parliamentary constituencies in the state. The Supreme Court on Tuesday (January 15) rejected a plea by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hold a rath yatra in West Bengal, saying it is up to the state government to grant permission for the event. The Bengal government had earlier denied permission for holding rallies across 42 constituencies in the state citing law and order concerns. The apex court was hearing the BJP's plea to hold the rath yatra that would cover 42 Parliamentary constituencies in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections. The BJP in its plea has said that its fundamental right to hold a peaceful yatra cannot be withheld. The top court said that the "apprehension expressed by state government are not unfounded". The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government at the state had earlier denied permission to BJP to hold the Amit Shah rally. The BJP had then approached Calcutta High Court seeking permission to hold the yatra, also known as 'Save Democracy Rally'. However, a single-judge bench order at first granted them permission but a division bench later denied permission to hold the rally. The BJP then moved the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta HC order, seeking permission to hold the 'Save Democracy Rally'. The rallies, according to the original schedule, were supposed to be flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah from Bengal's Cooch Behar district on December 7, Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas on December 9, and from Tarapith temple in Birbhum on December 14.<doc-sep>BJP Chief Amit Shah will address the first rally on January 20 in Malda. (File) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned three days of rallies, to be addressed by party chief Amit Shah, across West Bengal on January 20 -- a day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's opposition rally in Kolkata. The announcement by state BJP president Dilip Ghosh comes after Supreme Court's directive asking the state government to allow the saffron party to hold public meetings. "We will start organising our public rallies from January 20. Amit Shah will address the first rally on January 20 in Malda," Mr Ghosh said. On January 21, Mr Shah will address two rallies in Suri in Birbhum district and Jhargram. On January 22, he will address rallies at Krishnanagar in Nadia district and Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district, Mr Ghosh said. The BJP has identified West Bengal as a priority state for the upcoming national elections and Amit Shah has set a target of 22 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP had earlier planned 'Rath Yatras' in all Lok Sabha constituencies in the state to boost its chances in the national elections. However, it was denied permission by the state government. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court put the programme on hold saying the state government's law-and-order apprehensions over the event were not "totally unfounded" and asked the BJP to submit a fresh request and seek necessary approvals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to attend a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground on February 8, Mr Ghosh said. He said they are yet to decide on the 'Rath Yatra' and the Bengal unit will discuss the matter with the central leaders. However, a lawyer associated with the matter has said that the 40-day programme has been cut to 20 and the fresh 'Yatras' would start from Baharampur in Murshidabad district, Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, Medinipur and the Lok Sabha constituency of Kolkata North. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has organised a massive rally in Kolkata on January 19, which is likely to see participation of lakhs of her supporters. Leaders of all major opposition parties have been invited to the rally to be held at the Brigade Parade ground in the heart of the city.<doc-sep>
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday opined that the West Bengal government’s apprehensions regarding the conduct of the ‘Rath Yatra’ by the state’s BJP unit are not completely baseless and unfounded. The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the West Bengal government to allow proposed public meetings and rallies of the BJP under its “Ganatantra Bachao Yatra”. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the BJP’s West Bengal unit to submit a revised schedule of its proposed ‘Rath Yatra’ with the authorities and seek necessary approvals. The bench also comprising Justices L.N. Rao and S.K. Kaul asked the West Bengal government to consider the revised schedule of the BJP for ‘Rath Yatra’ keeping in mind the fundamental right of speech and expression under the Constitution. The bench said the apprehension of the state government of possible law and order situation cannot be called “unfounded” and BJP will have to take all possible steps to address the apprehension in a reasonable manner. Rath Yatra BJP Supreme Court by on Scribd The top court had earlier sought a response from the state government on BJP’s plea seeking permission to take out ‘Rath Yatra’ in the state. The BJP’s Bengal unit challenged the December 21 order of a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which had set aside the order of a single-judge bench allowing the procession. It had also asked the BJP state unit to submit a revised plan for its ‘save democracy rally’ for consideration by the state government. The BJP has now decided to cut short its 40-day programme to 20 and the fresh ‘Yatras’ would start from Baharampur in Murshidabad district, Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, Medinipur and the Lok Sabha constituency of Kolkata North, a lawyer associated with the matter said, adding that the decision was taken in view of the upcoming school examinations and the general elections. Earlier, the BJP’s West Bengal unit had approached the apex court seeking permission to take out the rally, which would cover 42 parliamentary constituencies in the state. In its plea, the BJP has said that their fundamental right to hold a peaceful ‘Yatra’ cannot be withheld. The high court’s division bench had sent the case back to a single-judge bench to hear it afresh and also to consider the intelligence inputs by state agencies. The order of the division bench had come after hearing an appeal moved by the West Bengal government challenging the order of the single-judge bench. The rallies, according to the original schedule, were supposed to be flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah from Cooch Behar district on December 7, Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas on December 9, and from Tarapith temple in Birbhum on December 14. In the plea filed in the top court, the BJP’s West Bengal unit contended that authorities cannot abridge their right and they have a duty to facilitate them in exercising their democratic right. The BJP alleged in the plea that the state government was repeatedly “attacking” the fundamental right of citizens due to which different petitions have been filed challenging the activities of the state government in denying permission to different organisations. It has claimed that earlier too, permission was denied several times at the last moment to “harass the BJP” which later moved the high court and that the party “is facing such political vendetta since 2014 in West Bengal”. This article has been edited and republished to correct PTI’s incorrect interpretation of the court’s order.