Siliguri, Nov. 2 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is scheduled to visit Siliguri on Tuesday to participate in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Save Democracy' rally, with the district administration and police stepping up preparations ahead of his visit.
The rally will begin from Baghajatin Park and culminate at Mahatma Gandhi More. Adhikari will join the march, which is scheduled to begin around 2 pm.
On Monday, Director of Security and Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Manoj Verma arrived in Siliguri to oversee security arrangements for the Chief Minister's visit. Accompanied by Siliguri Police Commissioner Syed Waquar Raza, he inspected several locations likely to feature in the Chief Minister's itinerary and reviewed the security arrangements.
According to the tentative itinerary, Adhikari will arrive at Bagdogra Airport around noon and travel by road to Baghajatin Park. From there, the rally will proceed via Hashmi Chowk and Hill Cart Road towards Mahatma Gandhi More, where a stage is being set up. The Chief Minister is expected to address the gathering from the stage after the rally.
He is also scheduled to hold a meeting at Uttarkanya with representatives of the Rajbanshi and Kamtapuri communities from North Bengal, along with central and state-level party leaders, ministers, MLAs and representatives of various organisations.
Sources also indicated that the Chief Minister may visit Indian cricketer Richa Ghosh and the residence of Makhanlal Sarkar, regarded as one of the BJP's founding figures in North Bengal. However, no official confirmation regarding these two engagements has been received yet.
Syed Waquar Raza, Siliguri Police Commissioner said: "We have inspected the locations included in the Chief Minister's proposed itinerary and reviewed the security arrangements."
Meanwhile, Raju Saha, Bibhag convenor of BJP Siliguri Organising Committee said the rally was aimed at creating public awareness about safeguarding democracy. "The SIR process has been conducted properly and an error-free electoral roll has been prepared. Through this rally, we want to make people aware of the need to protect democracy. We appeal to the general public to participate in the march," he said. Adhikari is scheduled to return to Kolkata on
the same day.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.