SC asks West Bengal govt to allow BJP to hold rallies in state

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the West Bengal government to allow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hold meetings and organise rallies in the state given that the party provides the time and the venue details in advance.A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi ruled that the apprehensions of West Bengal government on BJP's Rath Yatra were not unfounded.As regards the non-grant of sanctions by the authorities for taking out the statewide "Rath Yatras" (chariot marches), the SC said, "Looking into the details of the proposed Rath Yatras and the order of the state government dated January 14, 2019, we cannot say that the apprehensions expressed by the state government are totally unfounded."It is for the state government to maintain law and order in the state and the apprehensions expressed in the order will have to be addressed by the petitioner in a reasonable manner."The bench, also comprising justices L Nageswara Rao and Sanjay Kishan Kaul, noted the state government's submission that it had no objections in holding of public meetings and rallies and had merely sought the details and schedules of such meetings and rallies from the BJP.As regards the "Rath Yatras", the bench asked the Trinamool Congress ( TMC ) government in the state to consider the fresh, revised proposal of the saffron party, keeping in mind the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution."Once such a proposal is submitted, the state government will consider the matter and pass appropriate orders, keeping in mind that the present involves a case of exercise of the fundamental rights, inter alia, under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. It is in that spirit that we expect the state government to deal with the matter on receipt of such revised proposal as may be submitted," it said.The West Bengal unit of BJP had moved the top court challenging a Calcutta high court division bench order that quashed a single bench's conditional go-ahead to the party's 'Rath Yatra' programme in the state.The TMC has contended that because of the high court order, the BJP can't go ahead with its mass contact programme.The BJP's plans to take out 'save democracy rallies' hit a roadblock when the high court's division bench on December 21 quashed the single bench's order that had given the go-ahead to the programme, saying the party should not create any trouble during their programme as they would be held liable.(With agency inputs)