Kolkata, 21 July (H.S.) : Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday appealed to the Congress and the Left parties to put aside political differences and unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the INDIA bloc banner in West Bengal. Addressing the party's annual Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee said all anti-BJP forces should come together to take on the ruling party.
I want all forces fighting the BJP in Bengal to unite under the INDIA alliance. I have no ego. Let everyone forget their differences and fight together against the BJP, she said.
At the same time, Banerjee ruled out any possibility of welcoming back leaders who had left the Trinamool Congress, declaring that there was no place for traitors in the party.
Launching a sharp attack on Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Banerjee alleged that the state machinery was being used to weaken the TMC. Without naming him directly, she claimed that if she chose to speak openly, she could expose everything that had happened during his decade-long association with the party.
If I start speaking, the truth about your ten years in the Trinamool Congress will come out. Your mask will fall. Once the BJP loses power at the Centre, the government in Bengal will not survive either, she said.
Banerjee also accused the BJP government of misusing investigative agencies and the police to target political opponents. She claimed that around 14,000 criminal cases had been filed against TMC leaders and workers since the BJP assumed power in West Bengal.
In a sarcastic remark aimed at the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), she said she had never seen such a CID and added that its work deserved a place in the Guinness World Records.
Referring to the recent alleged rape and murder of a young woman in Baruipur, Banerjee claimed she had been effectively confined to her residence when she attempted to visit the victim's family.
She further alleged that the BJP government's policies had adversely affected street vendors, mid-day meal workers and beneficiaries of various welfare schemes. She also accused the government of failing to fulfil its promise of paying dearness allowance to state employees.
The TMC chief alleged that BJP workers had attempted to disrupt the Martyrs' Day programme on Monday night by vandalising the stage and cutting off electricity. She thanked the Calcutta High Court for permitting the rally and expressed gratitude to the families of those killed in the 1993 police firing for attending the event despite difficult circumstances.
Banerjee also accused the BJP of exploiting religious sentiments for political gain, alleging that not only the Ram Temple but even donation boxes at temples across West Bengal were being looted. She raised the issue of alleged examination irregularities and questioned whether the BJP could bring back students who had allegedly lost their lives because of those irregularities.
In a lighter but politically charged remark, she said she would even join the agitation of the Cockroach Janata Party if necessary. She also announced that she would soon begin a statewide tour covering districts across West Bengal.
The Martyrs' Day observance commemorates the police firing on July 21, 1993, during a Youth Congress demonstration at Esplanade in Kolkata, in which 13 activists were killed under the then Left Front government. Banerjee, who was then with the Congress, has continued the annual commemoration after founding the Trinamool Congress, making it one of the party's most significant political events.
This year's observance assumed added political significance as it marked the first Martyrs' Day after the split in the Trinamool Congress, with Banerjee's faction and the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee holding separate programmes.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
