The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday submitted a representation to the Coimbatore City Police, seeking permission to host a 4-km roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 18.
The police were yet to grant approval for the roadshow as on Thursday evening, considering factors such as the long distance sought by the party, traffic congestion and likely school examinations.
The party has sought permission for the roadshow between Eru Company on Mettupalayam Road and the Head Post Office junction at R.S. Puram.
Police sources said permission for such a long roadshow had not been granted for any party in the recent past.
The culmination point at R.S. Puram was one of the locations where bombs exploded in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls in February 1998. A bomb went off around 100 metres away from a stage where the party’s then president L.K. Advani was scheduled to address a public meeting.
BJP and allied organisations under the RSS started to pay homage to the victims of the terror attack at the location on the anniversary of the blast every year, besides demanding a memorial at the location.
However, BJP functionaries say the location was sought for the roadshow as it is in the middle of five Assembly constituencies, namely Coimbatore north, Coimbatore south, Thondamuthur, Kavundampalaym and Singanallur.
Sources in the party said that cadres from the western district will come to Coimbatore to attend the roadshow, time for which is sought in the afternoon, if the police accord permission. BJP’s Tamil Nadu State general secretary A.P. Muruganandam is in-charge of organising the roadshow.
