KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed the West Bengal government to requisition central forces for assisting the state police in maintaining peace during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. The court said in view of events in the recent past, the order was being given to assure the general public that they are safe and will not be affected by any disturbance.
Following the direction of the Calcutta High Court, the West Bengal government on Wednesday decided to deploy paramilitary forces in three districts of Hooghly, Barrackpore and Kolkata during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, a senior official said. The decision was taken at a meeting held virtually by Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi with senior police officers of the state.
Clashes had taken place at some places in Howrah and Hooghly districts between two groups during and after the Ram Navami processions. Welcoming the court order, the opposition BJP claimed that the West Bengal government failed to maintain law and order, while the ruling TMC accused the saffron camp of trying to foment trouble in the state.
Observing that prevention is better than cure, a division bench presided by Acting Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the West Bengal government to requisition central forces to avoid any breach of peace when Hanuman Jayanti rallies are taken out on Thursday. The court also directed the Centre to make swift arrangements for such deployment on receipt of requisition from the state.
The order came on a PIL filed by Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP. The high court said the state police is required to take all steps, with the assistance of the central forces, to prevent any untoward incident so that people are not put in jeopardy.
It also asked the state to file an action taken report on the next date of hearing.
"The intelligence wing of the state police shall be strengthened and all steps be taken to avert any such pre-planned attacks or violence," the bench directed. It said that considering the sensitivity of the issue, no political personality or a leader or a common man will make any statement to the public or to the media concerning the festival.
The court said the police will have the discretion to restrict the route of any procession considering the "unpleasant" events that have taken place.
Passing the order, the bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, said it has to be ensured that Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated in a peaceful manner without any untoward incident.
"We welcome the court order," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at Digha in Purba Medinipur district. However, the high court order prompted a war of words between the TMC and the BJP. BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the state government failed to control the situation when violence erupted during Ram Navami celebrations because of its 'appeasement politics'.
Suvendu Adhikari also accused the state government of failing to maintain the law and order in the state. TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "We have seen that central forces were deployed when assembly elections were held in eight phases in 2021. The BJP and the saffron camp are trying to foment trouble in the state. The central forces will now have to deal with the goons of the BJP."
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said both the BJP and the TMC are trying to destroy the state's culture. "The administration's failure has been evident in the past few days. The TMC and the BJP are trying to destroy the entire state and its culture. Such a situation was unthinkable during the Left Front regime," he said.
