West Bengal govt refuses permission for BJP's Rath Yatra programme, party to move HC
Kolkata, Dec 15: The West Bengal government Saturday refused permission for the BJP's proposed Rath Yatra, citing intelligence reports of possible communal violence in areas where the party was planning to take out the yatra.
In a letter to state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, the West Bengal government said it was unable to allow the yatra as proposed by the party.
Intelligence reports indicated that "in several districts, organisations with overtly communal agenda, such as the RSS, the Bajrang Dal and the VHP, would actively join the yatra. There is a grave apprehension of major breach of peace... during and after the yatra", the state government said in the letter.
Reacting to the development, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya criticised the Trinamool Congress government's decision and said his party would move a higher court against it, while Ghosh termed the decision "totally undemocratic."
The saffron party had proposed to take out three rath yatras in different parts of the state ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
The BJP moved a division bench of the Calcutta High Court after a single-judge bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty refused permission to the party to hold the yatra.
The division bench had on December 7 directed the West Bengal chief secretary, the home secretary and the director general of police to hold a meeting with three representatives of the BJP by December 12, and take a decision on the 'rath yatra' by December 14.
Following the meeting between the two sides, state government officials had told the BJP that the decision will be conveyed to them by Saturday.
In the letter to the BJP, the West Bengal government said, "The areas proposed to be covered by the yatra are, because of publicity and propaganda, gradually turning into communally sensitive pockets. Intelligence reports indicate that public perception is that the religious overtones of the yatra will be turned into communal propaganda."
In the letter, the government has mentioned that intelligence inputs were obtained from district magistrates, commissioners of police, superintendents of police and the assessment of the Intelligence Bureau on the routes proposed by the BJP for the yatra.
The large number of convoys in the Yatra would create a chaotic situation and cause traffic disruption on arterial roads and highways, the government said.
"Furthermore, during the period cited, major festivals and events are scheduled, and it required a heavy deployment of the resources of the government, including the police force," the letter read.
According to the yatra schedule submitted by the BJP, there were plans to hold 158 meetings across West Bengal and the three segments of yatra would cover religious sites. The yatras would continue simultaneously for at least 34 days.
The government said, "We are therefore of the opinion that, for the reasons which have been elaborately mentioned... it is not possible to allow the yatra as proposed by the BJP."
The state government, however, said permission for any particular meeting would be decided solely by the district authorities on case-to-case basis.
"Therefore, for each meeting proposed, the BJP may apply afresh before the relevant district authorities with all required details," it said.
BJP national president Amit Shah was to kickstart the campaign titled 'Save Democracy Rally' from Cooch Behar district on December 7, from Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district on December 9, and from Tarapith temple in Birbhum district on December 14.
The 'rath Yatras' were to cover all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
