BJP rally at Cooch Behar: Amit Shah to skip; High Court decision at 12.30pm

Some of the BJP workers kept vigil the whole night to prevent vandalisation of the meeting venue by any opposing forces. (Express Photo  by Shashi Ghosh)

On Thursday night, the Calcutta High Court had denied permission for the rally, saying there was not enough time for the state to make adequate security arrangements for a political rally of that scale. The high court also directed the party not to hold any such rally till January 9, 2019. Lawyers from the BJP then approached the division bench of the high court.

Since the court’s ban is specifically on rallies and not on public meetings, West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said on Thursday that they will hold the public meeting at Jhinaidanga even if they were denied permission for the rally.

At the same time, BJP’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said the party will not take out the rath yatra, (whose curriculum includes both rally and meeting) without the permission of the court.

BJP leader Mukul Roy with the party’s national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya at the venue on Thursday. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)

With the contradicting positions of the party superiors, the party workers at the venue are now anxiously waiting for the high court’s decision.

Earlier, the party was also refused a venue in Cooch Behar for a public meeting. A BJP worker then offered his 7-bigha agricultural land in Jhinaidnaga for the party to host the gathering. Soon, the work to transform a farmland into a venue for a political gathering began. A stage was set up, seating arrangements were made.

The empty venue on Friday morning. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)