The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal has been planning to kickstart its 2019 poll campaign right from December this year through its grand rath yatras covering all 42 constituencies in the state. But the Mamata Banerjee government hasn’t yet responded to the BJP’s application for permission, prompting the BJP chief Dilip Ghosh to say that his party might move court in this context.
The first rath yatra will be taken out on December 5, to be flagged off by BJP national president Amit Shah, from Birbhum’s Tarapith. The second one will start from Cooch Behar district on December 7. The third rathyatra will start from Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas district on December 9.
However, Ghosh said that while the party had informed the Bengal government about their detailed itinerary, there has been no response yet. “We wanted to discuss it with the government but they turned us down. We may have to move court if they don’t give us permission,” Ghosh said. He added that all documents to be submitted to the court – if such a situation does arise – were all ready.
Earlier this week, the BJP’s West Bengal Mahila Morcha president Locket Chatterjee said that anyone trying to disrupt and stop the party’s “rath yatra” will get crushed under its wheels. She said the rath yatras were aimed at restoring democracy in Bengal and any attempt to stop it won’t be tolerated. “Anyone trying to stop it will get crushed under the wheels of the chariot,” she said.
The ruling Trinamool Congress reacted sharply. The party’s general secretary Partha Chatterjee said that the BJP leaders were encouraging communal discord and trying to disturb the stability of the state.
