Anyone resisting rath yatra in Bengal will be crushed under wheels: BJP women’s chief

The rally of three raths that has been labelled ‘Ganatantra Bachao Yatra’ is so far the most high-profile political programme by the BJP in Bengal. Three modified buses are supposed to start from Cooch Behar, Tarapith and Gangasagar in the first week of December.

Anyone attempting to obstruct the party’s rath yatra in Bengal will be crushed under the chariots’ wheels, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s wing chief Locket Chatterjee said on Saturday.

The rally of three raths that has been labelled ‘Ganatantra Bachao Yatra’ (Rally for Saving Democracy) is so far the most high-profile and spectacular political programme by the saffron party in the state.

“Whoever attempts to resist the chariots will be crushed under their wheels. The rath yatra will certainly take place with the support of the common people,” Chatterjee told the media, while responding to questions that Trinamool Congress leaders have hinted that the programme will be stopped if chief minister Mamata Banerjee wishes so.

During the day, Chatterjee held a meeting of women members from 11 districts in the north Bengal district of Malda discussing the role of women in the event.

Three raths — modified buses actually — are supposed to start their journey from Cooch Behar, Tarapith and Gangasagar in the first week of December. “Senior BJP leaders such as Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath and Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal will lead a rath each. People of Bengal want this rath yatra,” said Chatterjee.

Ruling party leaders have hit back. “Chatterjee used to work for the film and television industry. She seems to be carrying the dialogue from her earlier vocation. Common people don’t like these statements,” said Trinamool’s Malda district working president Dulal Sarkar.

“The BJP has been able to form a few gram panchayat boards in Malda with the support of the Left Front. It does not mean BJP has got popular support. The Lok Sabha elections will prove it,” said Sarkar.

Bengal is a focus state where the party wants to win at least 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections and is depending on this programme to rally public opinion in the state.

BJP national executive member Mukul Roy, who is the head of the party’s Lok Sabha election management committee for West Bengal, said they will move court if the Mamata Banerjee administration keeps ignoring their plea for a meeting discuss the yatra.

Roy said that a letter was sent to home secretary Atri Bhattacharya on October 29, seeking an appointment with him by November 5. As it yielded no response, a second letter was sent on November 5, seeking an appointment by November 9.