In a democracy political parties will take out rath yatras. But keeping the peace is the responsibility of both government and opposition

The Calcutta high court order allowing BJP to take out its rath yatra through Bengal is a setback for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government. With BJP emerging as the strongest opposition party in Bengal, TMC has been wary of BJP moves for a while. In a democracy, political opponents will take out marches and stage rallies against the government of the day.

The high court has called out the misuse of policing powers to claim law and order problems. Government must ensure peace, not use it as a fig leaf to curtail political activity. Moreover, the court has also warned BJP that it will have to pay the costs for any violence or destruction of property. Obviously, the “rath yatra” appellation draws strong connotations with LK Advani’s eponymous temple run that left a trail of violence and destruction in its wake.

But the “rath yatra” term did catch the political imagination to denote the march of a triumphant leader and several parties including Congress have taken out “vijay rath yatra”, “vikas rath yatra” and so on. In this vein, BJP believes a rath yatra through Bengal may help it gain traction in the state and offset potential losses elsewhere. However, it must ensure that no communal slogans and speeches rent the air and vitiate social harmony.

Having tried out Congress, CPM and TMC and their respective developmental approaches in previous decades, there is no reason why the people of Bengal would not give BJP a chance, provided it presents a “sabka saath sabka vikas” agenda. Given Bengal’s sizeable Muslim minority the communal cleavages do exist, but BJP would do better to position itself as a responsible opposition party first. It should use the rath yatra to reach out to all sections of the population. That would be a befitting reply to Trinamool Congress and its attempts to stop the yatra.

Read: Calcutta HC allows BJP rath yatra in West Bengal