The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday moved the Calcutta high court, seeking directive to the Mamata Banerjee administration to cooperate with the party’s 40-day long Ganatantra Bachao Yatra (Save Democracy Rally) — starting December 7 — across the state.
“We were forced to move court because the administration turned a deaf ear to our repeated pleas for a discussion on the peaceful commencement of our programme,” said BJP state unit vice-president, Pratap Banerjee, adding the party expects the matter to be heard on December 3.
According to Jay Prakash Majumdar, another vice-president, the party received no response to its letters dated October 29 and November 5 which sought an appointment with home secretary Atri Bhattacharya for discussing the route and other aspects of the rally.
Three raths — air-conditioned buses — will travel across the state and converge in Kolkata in the second half of January. The buses will carry senior BJP leaders, including more than a dozen chief ministers from BJP-ruled states. The itinerary was tweaked to suit the schedule of Amit Shah.