Kolkata, 21 July (H.S.): Rebel Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led Kalighat Trinamool, saying the party's July 21 Martyrs' Day rally is not a reality show or a catwalk.

Addressing a parallel Martyrs' Day programme near the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road, Ritabrata criticised the manner in which the annual rally has been organised over the years. He alleged that genuine party workers had been sidelined while television and film personalities were given prominence on the main stage.

Without naming the Kalighat Trinamool leadership directly, he said celebrities were brought to the stage to attract attention, whereas grassroots leaders and party workers who had built the organisation were pushed to the back rows.

Ritabrata further alleged that actors playing minor roles in television serials and members of the film industry were accorded places on the dais, while dedicated political workers were denied due recognition. He claimed that even those who had sold their land to secure the release of party workers facing what he described as false cases had not been given the respect they deserved.

He said the July 21 Martyrs' Day platform should belong to party workers who had struggled for the organisation, rather than being turned into a showpiece event.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey