The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Thursday moved the Calcutta High Court after Kolkata Police denied them permission to hold a rally in the city on January 14, ANI reported. The PIL will be heard on Friday. This comes a day after High Court judge Joymalya Bagchi had asked the Kolkata Police to reconsider RSS’ request and grant permission for the event in 24 hours.
The RSS is scheduled to host a conclave that will be attended by Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. The organisation’s representatives had earlier proposed names of two venues in their application to the Kolkata Police – Khidderpore and Brigade Ground. While Khidderpore was denied by the police citing law and order issues, Brigade Ground was also ruled out as it was too big for the conclave, the Hindustan Times reported.
The court had asked the RSS to file another application as the earlier one had “technical discrepancies”, reported The Hindu. The RSS had filed a new application on Wednesday seeking permission to hold their rally at either of the venues, which the police rejected again on Thursday, ANI reported. The police had reportedly then asked the Sangh to fix an alternate date for their conclave.
The incident comes amid tension between the Bharatiya Janata Party and state’s ruling Trinamool Congress. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said she and her party members were being targeted for their vocal opposition to the demonetisation drive and had criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for it. TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay had also been arrested on January 4 in connection with Rose Valley chit fund scam, a move Banerjee claimed was politically motivated. Several TMC workers had protested against his arrest and had also vandalised BJP headquarters in Kolkata.
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