Calcutta HC accepts BJP's plea on Rath Yatra ban

The Calcutta High Court on Friday accepted Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) plea challenging the ban on party's Rath Yatra in the state of West Bengal.

On Thursday, the High Court refused to give permission to the BJP to hold Rath Yatra in West Bengal's Cooch Behar and subsequent rallies in other districts. The Yatra was scheduled to be flagged off by party chief Amit Shah today. The judicature upheld the concerns cited by the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee that the programme may stoke communal tensions and cause violence in the region.

Following the denial, the BJP hit out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government saying that it is trying to "kill the democracy". Slamming the West Bengal Chief Minister, Union Minister Babul Supriyo said that "Mamata Banerjee is killing the democracy" in the state.

West Bengal BJP vice president Jay Prakash Majumdar had told media, "Any peaceful democratic movement is permissible under the Indian Constitution. We believe in Sanvidhaan (Constitution) but this state is going on Mamatavidhaan."

The BJP's plan was to hold three Rath Yatras beginning with Cooch Behar district today, Kakdwip in the South 24 Parganas district on December 9 and Tarapith temple in Birbhum district on December 14.