The pendulum swung back once again for the BJP after Thursday’s “moral victory” with a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court on Friday setting aside the single Bench order granting permission to the much-hyped rath yatra.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Debashis Kargupta and Justice Shampa Sarkar sent the matter back to the single Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakrabarty asking it to consider the intelligence inputs from the State agencies that had predicted violence and communal unrest during the course of the rally.
The Trinamool Congress Government which had earlier denied the yatra permission to the saffron outfit had preferred an appeal against the single Bench order green-signaling the yatra.
The Bench of Justice Chakrabarty had on Thursday questioned the Government’s intention in sitting over the letters seeking permission from the Government for two months before hurriedly asking the intelligence agencies to prepare reports on the consequence of the yatra on the State’s law and order situation.
Subsequently it OK’d the yatra with a rider saying the BJP would be equally responsible (along with the State Government) for the situations if they turn violent.
The BJP was likely to hold three yatras each one to be inaugurated by party president Amit Shah from Coochbehar, Kakdwip-Ganga Sagar and Birbhum. All the yatras were to converge at the Brigade parade ground in Kolkata where Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address a grand rally.
However with the Friday’s order the future of the Yatra once again slipped back to the realms of uncertainty at least till the winter vacations as it could be taken up only after the New Year when the Court would reopen.
The saffron leadership said it was considering to move the Supreme Court.
Friday saw the Government being represented by senior counsel and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi apart from State Advocate General Kishore Dutta whereas the BJP was represented by SK Kapoor.
During the argument the Government iterated the facts that it had cited on Thursday saying intelligence reports had expressed apprehensions of breach of communal harmony in the State if the Yatras were allowed to happen.
“The party will take a decision after considering the order. We do not rule out anything,” BJP leader Jayprakash Majumdar said when asked to comment whether his party would move the Apex Court against the order.
BJP State president Dilip Ghosh said, “We still rely on judicial decision and hope finally we will get justice for the sake of democracy to survive in Bengal.”