The Calcutta High Court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition filed by West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari seeking to defer Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s interfaith rally scheduled for January 22, reported Bar and Bench.

On Tuesday, Banerjee announced that she would offer prayers at the Kalighat temple in Kolkata and then lead a mega Sampriti (religious harmony) rally on January 22, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the consecration ceremony for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.

The Trinamool Congress chief said that the rally will cover mosques, temples, churches, and gurdwara from Hazra to the Park Circus ground.

Following this, Adhikari approached the High Court on Wednesday, stating that Banerjee’s rally could lead to a law and order situation in the state, and hence, should be postponed, reported The Indian Express.

“If not, there should be deployment of paramilitary forces in Bengal on January 22,” the petition demanded.

Hearing the petition on Thursday, a bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya asked the state government to ensure that there is no breach of peace or tranquillity during Banerjee’s rally.

“During the rally, no speech or utterances be made hurting the sentiments of a section of the people belonging to a particular religion or sect and this shall be scrupulously followed,” the bench ordered. “All persons participating in the rally must be sensitised. If violence happens organisers must be held liable.”

Speaking to mediapersons earlier, Adhikari had accused the chief minister of trying to disrupt communal harmony in West Bengal.

“Life and property of the people are at risk,” he said. “Earlier, during the Ram Navami rallies, we saw how miscreants attacked and such sensitive areas are known to all.”

The Trinamool Congress has joined several Opposition parties from the INDIA bloc in skipping the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had earlier said that they would not attend the event.

The Opposition parties have alleged that the religious event is being politicised by the BJP-led Central government for electoral gains ahead of the Lok Sabha polls later this year.