BJP President Amit Shah at an election rally in Jharkhand on November 16, 2014 (Press Trust of India photo)
Amit Shah, the president of the BJP, cannot hold a rally in the heart of Kolkata on Sunday, the city corporation decided today. The BJP had applied as early as July for permission to hold a public meeting outside Victoria House, where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee holds an annual rally every July for her party.
Earlier, the city police said that Mr Shah's meeting would inconvenience commuters since a major traffic intersection is located at the venue. The BJP has pointed out that no such concern has been expressed for the Chief Minister's address. Alleging discrimination, the party has refused to consider an alternative location.
"This must be a record in India...perhaps it can be entered in the Guinness book...we have to go to court three times to get permission for this venue," was the acerbic statement of the BJP's Rahul Sinha after the corporation turned down his party's application today. Mr Sinha said that the corporation objected to details like the size of the stage, the direction of staircases at the stage. "Let the corporation design the stage, we are fine with that," Mr Sinha said.
The BJP will go to the Calcutta High Court tomorrow for the third time in ten 10 days asking it to rule in its favour; in earlier hearings, the judge has said that the party must first seek clearances from local fire safety officials and the city corporation.
Rahul Sinha said he had spoken to Mr Shah this morning and has the green signal from him to press for permission to hold the meeting on Sunday in front of Victoria House. "We are confident the court will rule in our favour," he said.
Mr Shah, 50, who is credited with the BJP's recent landslide victories in key states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, has asked his party workers in Bengal to maximize a new recruitment drive. Party workers disenchanted with the Trinamool Congress and the Left are reportedly switching sides in large numbers.
In the parliamentary election in May, the BJP won two seats, giving it a foothold in a state where it has been considered a virtual non-entity. It also won an important by-election for the state legislature recently, defeating the Trinamool candidate.