BJP to move SC against Calcutta High Court order restraining its 'Rath Yatras' in West Bengal

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court had on Friday quashed the single bench order allowing BJP rath yatras in West Bengal.

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday decided to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the Friday ruling of the division bench of the Calcutta High Court which quashed a single bench order allowing the saffron party to hold 'Rath Yatras' in West Bengal.

According to news agency ANI, the saffron party has decided to approach the vacation bench of the Supreme Court challenging the order of the division bench of Calcutta High Court which restrained BJP's proposed Rath Yatras across the TMC-ruled state. 

BJP to move vacation bench of the Supreme Court challenging the order of the division bench of Calcutta High Court on BJP's Yatra in West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/CktrTxraJn — ANI (@ANI) December 22, 2018

A decision to this effect was taken during an emergency meeting of the BJP top brass which was called to decide the party's next course of action after its ambitious three-phase 'Rath Yatra' crisscrossing the entire West Bengal hit a roadblock.

According to the BJP sources, several state and central level leaders attended the meeting, which was called after the division bench of the Calcutta High Court quashed a single bench order that allowed the mega event and asked it to hear the case afresh.

After the Calcutta High Court ruling, the party leaders said that they will move a higher court for permission.

"The TMC is afraid of BJP," state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said while entering the party office before the meeting.

"We have full faith in the judiciary. The state government (Mamata Banerjee) is trying to stop the Rath Yatra on the basis of the assumption that it might create problems," he said.

BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said if needed the party will move a higher court to seek justice.

Meanwhile, the party has also decided to organise rallies in various parts of the state against the Trinamool government's decision to not allow the 'yatra'.

Earlier on Thursday, a single-judge bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty gave a go-ahead for the event. 

After the verdict, BJP leaders decided on tentative new dates for the programme starting December 28.

However, on Friday, the division bench of the Calcutta High Court quashed the single bench ruling in this regard.

The division bench of Chief Justice Debasish Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar on Friday quashed the single bench order and asked it to hear the case afresh to consider intelligence inputs by state agencies. 

The division bench also asked the single bench to dispose of the case expeditiously

BJP's ambitious 'Rath Yatras' aims to cover all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.