BJP Seeks Permission For ‘Rath Yatra’ Across West Bengal

Kolkata:

Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP on Monday sought permission from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government to organize the party’s two-month long ‘Rath Yatra’ or ‘Parivartan Yatra’ across the state, touching every Assembly constituency.

West Bengal BJP vice-president Pratap Banerjee met Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay at the state secretariat to submit a letter which mentions that the saffron party intends to hold Rath Yatras and Padyatras from February till March-end.

BJP had organized similar Rath Yatras in different parts of the country ahead of the 2019 general elections, but was denied permission in West Bengal by the Mamata Banerjee government. Incidentally, a theme song maligning the TMC had been sung by Union Minister Babul Supriyo and was supposed to be played during the rally.

“Alapan Bandhopadhyay has taken the letter. We intend to criss-cross all constituencies of the state. We have selected five districts as starting and ending points of these rallies. It will start in early February and will go on till March-end. The duration of each yatra will be approximately 20 to 25 days,” informed Banerjee.

“The broader purpose of this communication is to apprise you about the gamut of the programme so that the administration may prepare the modalities of relevant support system for the peaceful conduct of the program,” BJP West Bengal vice-president wrote in his letter.

According to party sources, BJP national president JP Nadda will inaugurate the Rath Yatra on February 6 from Nabadwip while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will launch the Rath Yatra from Cooch Behar on February 8.

“Shah will come for a two-day visit to the state on February 8. On February 9, he is likely to address Thakurnagar rally, which he couldn’t attend on January 30. As per the initial plan, the Rath Yatras are scheduled to start from Nabadwip, Cooch Behar, Kakdwip, Jhargram and Tarapith,” informed the source.