HC allows Abhishek’s rally at Shahid Minar with conditions

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday allowed Abhishek Banerjee’s rally to be held at Shahid Minar and also stated five directives that the rally will have to follow. The rally is slated to begin at 2 pm.

A case was filed in the court stating that the DA protesters and the protesters against teachers recruitment corruption have been protesting from the same space and allowing Banerjee’s rally may cause a volatile situation.

But the Advocate General assured the court on Tuesday that no untoward incident will occur and that heavy security has been deployed in the area.

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha permitted the rally while stating five directives that Banerjee’s rally will have to follow.

The court has directed the Joint Commissioner to install CCTV cameras at all important places, including entry and exit points. There shall not be any inflammatory or instigating speeches. The rally should be held peacefully and shall not create inconvenience to the public at large. They will also need to clean up the venue after the conclusion.

At the same time, Justice Mantha also ordered that in future no rival groups shall be allowed to hold a rally at the same venue on the same date and time by the police in the state.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced that the rally will oppose the policies of the BJP-led central government.

The rally is being organised by Trinamool Youth Congress and Trinamool Chatra Parishad. The party said that the rally will inform people about the alleged anti-people policies that have been brought about by the BJP.

The TMC sources said that Abhishek Banerjee’s rally will mainly raise the issue of alleged misuse of Central probe agencies by the BJP government at the Centre. The party recently condemned the use of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Opposition leaders.

A party insider said that it has become a trend of the Central government to first send the CBI for investigation and subsequently “unleash” the ED which is then allegedly slapping false cases of money laundering against opposition party leaders.

“The misuse of these probe agencies has increased ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024,” said a TMC youth leader. Further, Banerjee’s rally will also talk about increased prices of petrol.