Will BJP be allowed to protest outside Bengal's secretariat?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Jan 13 (NationPress) The BJP's unit in West Bengal has approached the Calcutta High Court with a petition requesting authorization to stage a protest outside the state secretariat, Nabanna, in response to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's alleged actions obstructing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) concurrent raids on I-PAC.
The petition was accepted by the single-judge bench headed by Justice Shampa Dutta Paul.
On January 8, amidst ongoing raids at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee and the residence of its co-founder, Pratik Jain, the Chief Minister was seen visiting both locations along with high-ranking officials from the state administration and the police, reportedly leaving with several paper files and electronic documents.
Legal proceedings are currently ongoing in both the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court following the ED's allegations against the Chief Minister for purportedly abusing her constitutional authority to hinder central agency officials.
In light of this, the BJP's West Bengal unit has resolved to organize a protest demonstration outside the Nabanna office, located at Mandirtala in the Howrah district of Kolkata. However, as Nabanna is classified as a high-security area, special consent is necessary for any protest activities.
Thus, the BJP's state unit has directly approached the Calcutta High Court seeking permission for this demonstration. The court's forthcoming decision on this matter remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has mocked the BJP's initiative, with party youth leader Debangshu Bhattacharya stating, "The BJP leaders in West Bengal realize they will never hold the chair inside Nabanna, so they wish to satisfy their ambitions by protesting outside it."