Kolkata

The Calcutta High Court approved protest plans by the BJP and Congress in response to the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R. G. Kar Medical College & Hospital on Wednesday.

Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj authorized the BJP to hold a sit-in at Esplanade, Kolkata, from August 29 to September 5. The BJP sought court permission after the police initially denied it. Justice Bhardwaj stipulated that the demonstration should not exceed 1,000 participants.

Similarly, the court allowed Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Asutosh Chattopadhyay to hold a protest rally from College Square to Shyambazar on Thursday. This rally will be the first Congress demonstration addressing the tragic incident.

Both BJP and Congress leaders expressed relief at the court’s decisions, criticizing the Mamata Banerjee government for allegedly undermining opposition parties. They claimed that police routinely deny permission for opposition rallies, forcing them to seek court intervention.

Earlier in the day, the Calcutta High Court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sanjay Das challenging the BJP’s 12-hour general strike in West Bengal. The court also fined Das Rs 50,000. The strike was called to protest police actions against participants in the ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally, which was organized to address the same tragedy.