Kolkata, Sept. 14 -- Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has accused the Mahesh Jagannath Jiu Trust Board of backdating its decision to bar political meetings at Shanpirir Maidan, amid the controversy over TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's proposed rally in Serampore.
The trust board had said the decision was taken on July 9. Kalyan argued that the date should have been mentioned in the affidavit filed by the board seeking a stay, but was not. He claimed this suggested that the decision was taken later and backdated.
He also questioned why the July 9 decision was not mentioned at the board secretary Piyal Adhikari's recent press conference.
Kalyan said he would have no objection if the ban applied to political meetings by all parties, but questioned its timing as the issue surfaced only after the court case over Trinamool's proposed meeting.
Meanwhile, the legal uncertainty over Mamata Banerjee's proposed Serampore meeting continues. The matter has moved between the single and division benches, with the division bench returning the case to the single bench over procedural defects. The programme remains in limbo until September 25.
The single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya had barred a procession on GT Road but allowed a meeting at the Mahesh Jagannath temple ground from 1 pm to 3 pm, with a maximum gathering of 2,000 people.
However, the temple authorities later objected to allowing the ground to be used, prompting the state and temple authorities to approach the division bench.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.