Patna, Jan. 8: Firm on its plan, the BJP today threatened to organise its January 23 rally, with party president Amit Shah at the forefront, on a city road.

The state BJP president, Mangal Pandey, told The Telegraph : 'If the government does not allocate Miller School grounds for Shah's rally, we shall organise it on a road. In a democratic set-up, no government can stop a political party from organising rallies and it is its duty to provide space.'

The state BJP unit has planned to organise a rally on January 23 to mark the birth anniversary of socialist leader Karpoori Thakur. Shah is slated to attend it.

If the BJP actually holds the rally on a road on January 23, it would be the second such instance in the city in the recent past. CPI-ML(Liberation) had organised its Khabardar rally under tight security arrangements on Beer Chand Patel Marg on 30, October 2013. The Left party was denied permission to hold the rally at Gandhi Maidan as it was closed after the serial blasts at the BJP's Hunkar rally at the same venue.

The BJP would have to approach the district administration for hosting the rally on road, which could turn out to be a nightmare for commuters. Patna district magistrate Abhay Kumar Singh said: 'Any political party has to take permission from the district administration before holding a rally on any road. The permission is granted or denied after reviewing the practical situation.'?

Different political parties (JDU, RJD, BJP) have been organising Karpoori Jayanti at SK Memorial Hall over the years. But the BJP has planned to hold a function to commemorate the mascot of socialism on a larger scale this year in an open ground. The BJP's grand plan appears to be a move to woo the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) voters before the Assembly polls.

The party had demanded the Miller School grounds for its rally and the state education minister, Brishen Patel, had allegedly given oral consent for allotting the ground. But the BJP received a letter on Tuesday from the state education department's secondary education directorate denying the BJP the permission to use the school grounds.

Countering the BJP's claim that the government had intentionally denied the Miller School grounds to the party, Patel said: 'The field was allotted to the labour department earlier and there was no question of giving it to the BJP.'

A source said the BJP could organise its rally at any other venue, but it wants to highlight the issue because Miller School grounds was not allotted to it earlier also. T

he state government had denied BJP the permission to hold a rally of its former national president Rajnath Singh at Miller School grounds on June 23, 2013 after the JDU snapped ties with the party. The BJP had to shift the event to Sanjay Gandhi Stadium at Gardanibagh.