West Bengal: Taking court permission, Suvendu Adhikari to hold 80th rally as LoP on Thursday

Two back-to-back Calcutta High Court verdicts on Wednesday, allowing the BJP to hold rallies that earlier didn't get permission from the local administration, underscored the high political tension between the government and the opposition. 

Suvendu Adhikari claimed that he would be attending the 80th public event as the leader of the opposition when he leads a rally in his hometown of Contai in Purba Medinipur, on Thursday in protest of alleged communal incidents in Maldah district’s Mathabari. He attended his 79th event on Wednesday which was a BJP Yuva Morcha rally to protest the alleged removal of Hindu voters from the voters’ list.

Both the rallies had to obtain clearance from the Calcutta High Court after the local administration denied them permission. Reportedly, the police had denied permission to the BJP Yuva Morcha, claiming its rally would disrupt the traffic and law and order situation in the city. However, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh allowed the rally, directing the organisers to hold it between 4 PM and 6 PM. 

”The High Court has come as a saviour to protect democracy today,” said LoP Adhikari at the beginning of the rally. “Our programme was scheduled for 3 PM. But the high court said we must begin it at 4 PM and march with only 1000 people. We will obey every word of the court order.”

The rally started from the headquarters of Bengal BJP at Muralidhar Sen Lane in central Kolkata and proceeded towards Dorina Crossing in Esplanade. A delegate from the rally went on to submit a memorandum to the office of the chief electoral officer of the state.

The leader of the opposition then launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of removing the names of Hindi-speaking residents of West Bengal from the voters’ list.

LoP Adhikari said, “Mamata Banerjee has targeted the removal of Hindi-speaking voters' names from electoral rolls, even though they are very much Bengalis. Her focus is on areas like Barrackpore industrial region, Howrah, Asansol, Siliguri, Kharagpur, and Kolkata's port area, where many Hindi-speaking Bengalis reside.”

“Additionally, she has also targeted those who fled Bangladesh with nothing but their clothes, particularly voters from border areas. Those who became refugees due to religious persecution are now being singled out for name removal,” he added.

The Nandigram MLA further claimed there is evidence of a BDO in Krishnangar issues notices to 98 Hindu voters In Krishnanagar, evidence has been presented showing that the BDO issued notices to 98 Hindu voters that their names from the voter list would be removed.

Meanwhile, the leader of opposition got the permission to hold Thursday’s rally in Contai after a disagreement with the local administration over timing. The BJP initially wanted to hold the rally in Contai on Tuesday. The local administration denied, asking the BJP for an alternative date. The saffron party then applied for permission to march on Thursday, which was granted by the administration. However, the BJP wanted to hold the rally between 1 PM and 8 PM, while the administration restricted the time frame from 2 PM to 6 PM.

On approaching the Calcutta High Court, Justice Ghosh on Wednesday directed that the BJP’s rally can be held between 1 PM and 6 PM.