BJP seeks permission from Bengal govt for rath yatra

The West Bengal BJP has sought permission from the state government for its month-long 'rath yatra' across the state ahead of the assembly polls.

BJP state vice-president Pratap Banerjee, in a letter to Chief Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay, said the saffron camp, beginning February, intends to take out five rallies, as part of the 'rath yatra', crisscrossing the entire state.

"West Bengal State Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to carry out a peaceful political programme throughout West Bengal in the form of 'yatra' in the months of February and March 2021.There will be five segments -- covering all the assembly constituencies of West Bengal. Each yatra will include a 'rath' and will run simultaneously in different segments/territories of the state," the letter said.

The duration of each yatra would be of approximately 20 to 25 days, it stated.

Several top BJP leaders are scheduled to arrive in Bengal during the month-long campaign, set to take off from Nabadwip, Coochbehar, Kakdwip, Jhargram and Tarapith on February 6, 8 and 9.

According to sources, the state secretariat has received the letter.

The broader purpose of this communication is to appraise you about the gamut of the program so that administration may prepare the modalities of relevant support system for peaceful conduct of the programme.

"We want to seek an appointment with you..." Banerjee said in his letter to the chief secretary.

Earlier, in 2018, the BJP had planned a similar rath yatras across the state, but the programme was called off at the very last moment as the state government refused to give permission.