File photo of BJP chief Amit Shah addressing a rally.
A day after Calcutta High Court gave conditional permission to BJP chief Amit Shah to hold a rally in the heart of Kolkata tomorrow, the city municipal corporation and the fire brigade have also given the party the go-ahead.
"The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has granted permission to BJP President Amit Shah's rally tomorrow," Mayor in-council Debasish Kumar said.
"We have received NOCs from both the KMC and fire services for holding the rally," state BJP (office secretary) Alok Guha Roy said.
State party spokesman Ritesh Tiwari hailed it as a "moral victory" of BJP, which has accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of trying to create hurdles in order to stall the rally.
The BJP had applied in July for permission to use the Victoria House, a popular venue for political meetings, but its request was repeatedly rejected by various city agencies as well as the police which cited traffic problems. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have also addressed several rallies here.
The BJP then moved the Calcutta High Court alleging a political motive. "This must be a record in India...perhaps it can be entered in the Guinness book...we have gone to court three times to seek this venue," was the acerbic statement of the BJP's Rahul Sinha after the city corporation turned down his party's application.
Following this, the High Court asked the BJP to "comply with statutes" of the city's civic body and fire brigade and appointed two special officers to assist the party.
"There is no argument that a meeting cannot be held in front of Victoria House, which is a public place," the court had observed.
Meanwhile, the rally site was today inspected by the two special officers appointed by the Calcutta High Court to ensure compliance of fire and municipal rules.
Director General of fire services Sanjoy Mukherjee and Joint Commissioner (Development) of KMC S Santra, the two special officers appointed by the High Court yesterday, visited the rally site this morning.