Impasse continues over Amit Shah's Kolkata rally

The impasse over the proposed Nov 30 rally of BJP president Amit Shah in the city continued here Tuesday with the Calcutta High Court directing the party to get clearance from the fire department and the municipal corporation.

Denied permission to hold the rally at Victoria House, where the ruling Trinamool Congress usually organises its annual martyrs' day rally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit moved the bench of Justice Debangshu Basak alleging discrimination by the city police.

Hearing the petition, Justice Basak told the party to seek clearance from the fire department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

The court also asked both the agencies to inform the BJP whether it has been granted permission or not with proper reasons on Nov 27.

The court had earlier asked city Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha to hold a meeting with BJP representatives but it failed to break the deadlock with police refusing to relent.

Meanwhile, BJP state unit chief Rahul Sinha declared that his party will go ahead with the schedule rally holding police to be responsible in case of any accident.

"The Trinamool Congress is apprehensive of the rise of the BJP in Bengal and trying to prevent our meeting with the help of police. The high court did not ask us to change the venue but only directed to follow a few guidelines.

"We will go ahead with the meeting and the thousands of supporters will gather at the Victoria House and if something happens, the onus will be on the police which has been acting on the whims of the Trinamool," said Sinha.