West Bengal BJP called off its public meeting in Howrah's Uluberia, scheduled to be held on Thursday, citing its inability to hold a successful rally in view of the Calcutta High Court's conditions.
The saffron party has decided to hold the event at a later date, which is yet to be decided.
Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted conditional permission to BJP to hold the rally on the same day the TMC will hold its massive Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata.
Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya said the meeting can be held from 8 PM to 10 PM, and BJP has to ensure that law and order is maintained and that no speaker issues any provocative statements. Also, the saffron party must ensure that NH 16 is not obstructed due to the rally.
Advertisement
"With the conditions, it won't be possible to hold a rally properly. So, we have decided to cancel it as of now," Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari told reporters.
The ruling TMC is scheduled to hold a massive rally on its Martyrs' Day on July 21, with several lakhs of people likely to attend the programme, which will be addressed by party chief Mamata Banerjee.
TMC leadership said BJP's rally was intended to grab media attention.
"BJP has lost political relevance in West Bengal. Its plan to hold the rally was an attempt to get some media attention," TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.
Advertisement
Banerjee said that its Martyrs' Day rally will be against the Centre's "authoritarian rule". The party plans to make its annual rally, being held after a gap of two years due to COVID-19 pandemic, a grand success.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee claimed that around 20 lakh people will attend the event.
TMC observes Martyrs' Day on July 21 every year to commemorate the killing of 13 people in police firing on a Youth Congress rally against the then Left Front government in 1993 when Banerjee was the YC state president.
She continues to observe the day even after forming the Trinamool Congress in 1998 and coming to power in West Bengal in 2011.
