Sandeshkhali crisis: HC allows BJP to hold sit-in protest in Kolkata

Kolkata, Feb 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Tuesday, gave a conditional approval to West Bengal BJP to conduct a sit-in demonstration in Kolkata to protest the alleged sexual harassment and violence against local women at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district.

After the police denied the permission to conduct the rally from February 27 to February 29 at the base of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in central Kolkata, BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar approached the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda challenging the order.

On Tuesday, the single-judge bench gave the nod to BJP to conduct the rally for two days instead of three days. Justice Chandra observed that the rally has to be conducted between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on each day with the maximum assembly of 140 agitators.

Justice Chanda also barred use of loudspeakers at the agitation site.

The BJP leadership had plans to bring a section of women protesting in Sandeshkhali to the sit-in demonstration dais. However, the police denied the permission that the use of loudspeakers was banned at the proposed protest venue.

The BJP gave a counter argument in the matter that that the denial of police permission was arbitrary considering that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sat on a two-day dharna at the same spot earlier this month "while Kolkata Police made arrangements for it".

Finally, on Monday, the state BJP president moved the Calcutta High Court for the permission

Source: IANS