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Calcutta HC quashes single bench order allowing BJP's 'Rath Yatra' in West Bengal

The division bench passed the order after hearing an appeal moved by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal.

Calcutta HC quashes single bench order allowing BJP's 'Rath Yatra' in West Bengal

KOLKATA: In a big blow to the Amit Shah and Narendra Modi-powered BJP, the Calcutta High Court on Friday quashed the single bench order which allowed the saffron party to take out 'Rath Yatras' in West Bengal.

According to news agency PTI, the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Chief Justice Debasish Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar send the case back to the single bench to consider intelligence inputs given by the state agencies.

The division bench passed the order after hearing an appeal filed by the Mamata Banerjee government, challenging the Thursday order of the single bench. 

Earlier on Thursday, the single bench of the Calcutta High Court had okayed BJP's 'Rath Yatra' in the state.

Allowing the party to hold three 'Rath Yatras' in West Bengal, the court directed that the state administration should ensure that there is no breach of law and order.

The ruling Trinamool Congress government in the state had earlier denied permission for the 'Rath Yatra' on December 15 after hectic deliberations on the grounds that it might lead to communal tension. 

The government reiterated the same facts before the court and cited intelligence reports expressing apprehensions of breach of communal harmony in the state. 

It further claimed that the programme scale was massive and require a huge deployment of security personnel covering all districts where the yatras would be held spanning 34 days.

BJP and the ruling TMC have since been at a war over the former's proposed 'Rath Yatras.'