The proposed Trinamool Congress rally in Kolkata over the Special Intensive Revision exercise faces a procedural hurdle, with Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand saying the force has received no official intimation and cannot plan arrangements based only on posters or social media posts.
Nand said organisers must submit a written application seeking permission and provide details of the proposed route, expected turnout and logistical requirements. He was speaking to reporters at the police headquarters in Lalbazar on Tuesday when asked about a proposed march from Rajabazar to Park Circus.
“Which rally are you talking about? We do not have any information regarding any rally or any official intimation. Let me see, during this time of Durga Puja,” Nand said. He added that the police could not take a decision by looking at a poster and that organisers were required to follow the prescribed procedure.
The police commissioner said a rally could create traffic-related difficulties and that those planning the event should discuss the arrangements with the law enforcement authorities. His comments place the proposed route and expected turnout at the centre of the permission process, since both would affect traffic planning and policing requirements.
The proposed protest was announced by Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh on Monday. Ghosh said the party’s student and youth wings had organised the march and that he would join it. He also said he was unsure whether party leader Mamata Banerjee would be able to attend because of her current engagements in Delhi.
Asked whether the party had obtained police permission, Ghosh said he was not sure but added that it would be safe to presume the organisers would not receive the green signal from the police. The comments indicate that the organisers’ public announcement and the formal permission process were not aligned at the time of the police commissioner’s statement.
The proposed march is expected to travel from Rajabazar to Park Circus, two busy parts of the city. However, the police commissioner’s remarks indicate that the route cannot be treated as operationally final until the organisers submit the required application and discuss the arrangements with the authorities.
The timing also coincides with Durga Puja, a period that Nand referred to while responding to questions about the rally. The police position suggests that any decision will require consideration of the existing demands on law enforcement and traffic management during the festival period.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari separately criticised the proposed rally, saying that the organisers had chosen “a very good location” for it. The statement was made in the context of the planned route, but no further details of the police permission process were provided in the material available.
The immediate next step is for the organisers to submit a written application and discuss the route, anticipated attendance and logistical arrangements with Kolkata Police. Until that process is completed, the police have said they have no official intimation of the rally.
