BJP members take out rallies across Bengal

There were scuffles between police officials and BJP workers in some places after they were stopped from taking out bike rallies.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also took out rallies on the occasion of Ram Navami in South Bengal without arms.

A spokesperson of VHP said that no arms would be carried in rallies held by it this year.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh took out Ram Navami rallies at Kharagpur in West Midnapore district and were seen displaying swords and maces.

Earlier, the city police had denied permission to take out bike rallies by BJP workers due to a ban on public rallies on the occasion of Ram Navami.

The state had already banned public display of weapons during processions on the festive occasion.

According to police, no political and religious organisations are allowed to carry out bike rallies across the city.

However, normal rallies by BJP, VHP were allowed to be taken out, a senior police official said.

As for bike rallies, police said they have capped the total number of bikes at 10.

“There can be more bikes but they have to be over 100 metres away in clusters of 10 bikes. For this, the local police stations must be informed,” a police officer said.

This year, VHP has promised to take out nearly 700 rallies in Bengal. A few will hit the streets on Saturday but the bulk will be on Sunday, he said.

Meanwhile, the state government has sought central forces from the Election Commission (EC) for law and order deployment on Ram Navami.