New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition by the BJP seeking to overturn the 2013 ban enforced by the Mamata Banerjee-led government on the use of loudspeakers in the state.
The prohibition, which applies to residential and institutional areas during the months of February and March, was put in place in purview of the end-of-year school exams.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP contested the ban claiming that it specifically intends to place hurdles in the party's political activities ahead of the upcoming polls and goes “beyond the legitimate purview of the environmental law”.
“The impugned notification, in its operation during the period proximate to elections, especially general elections, operates way beyond the legitimate purview of the environmental law,” the party said in the petition.
The SC, however, rejected the petition on the grounds that “children’s studies are more important than election campaigning”.
This is the second time that the BJP and the Trinamool Congress government have locked horns in the top court over the issue of campaigning in Bengal. Earlier, the SC refused to overturn the state government’s order banning the rath yatra the BJP had proposed to take out in the state over fears that it may lead to communal tensions.
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