West Bengal govt denies persmission to BJP chief Amit Shah's rath yatra

The West Bengal government has refused permission to BJP president Amit Shah's proposed 'rath yatra' from Coochbehar on grounds that it might cause communal tension, the state's advocate general informed the Calcutta High Court on Thursday.

Kishore Dutta told the court that the Coochbehar superintendent of police refused permission for the BJP president's rath yatra from Friday.

The state submitted that it might cause communal tension.

Asked by the judge who will take responsibility if anything untoward happens, BJP counsel Anindya Mitra submitted it is the duty of the state government to maintain law and order.

The advocate general opposed the BJP filing a supplementary affidavit opposing the refusal of permission, saying it can either come with a fresh petition or an amendment to his petition.