Thousands of people gathered at Kolkata’s Dharmatala area on Sunday for the Trinamool Congress’s Martyrs’ Day rally that witnessed the first public address by party chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the Lok Sabha poll triumphs. Apart from the TMC top leadership, including party number two Abhishek Banerjee, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav also participated in the procession.
TMC supporters from the far-off districts started arriving two days back and were staying at camps set up in various places in the city. From the rally, Chief Minister Banerjee is expected to outline the party's blueprint at the national level.
Speaking at the rally, Abhishek Banerjee slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party's pre-poll rhetoric and said people have taught a lesson to the saffron party in the Lok Sabha Election.
"BJP has stopped all funds due to Bengal. In Lok Sabha elections, people taught them a lesson. They said 'Abki Baar 400 Paar' but stopped at 240. They used ED, CBI against TMC but did not get victory. Sandeshkhali is an example. They created a fake narrative but the people of Sandeshkhali supported us. BJP used Sandeshkhali as a weapon to defame Bengal. In the same Lok Sabha seat, BJP lost by 3.50 lakh votes," he said.
He recalled that a day after the Shaheed Diwas in 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee's house and arrested him. "We don't shield anyone who has made mistakes. We do not allow injustice. But if Partha Chatterjee's house can be raised by central agencies in the SSC-TET scandal and he can be arrested by the ED, why shouldn't Dharmendra Pradhan be arrested for the NEET Scam, which is the biggest scam in India since Independence? Why this discrimination," he asked.
In his address, Akhilesh Yadav said that like people in UP, Bengalies also fought with the BJP and left them behind. "The people sitting in the government in Delhi are in power only for a few days. 'Woh sarkaar chalne wali nahi hai, woh sarkaar girne wali hai' (That government won't last long)," he said.
Later, addressing the crowd, Mamata Banerjee thanked Akhilesh Yadav for accepting her invitation and said she wants the relationship of Bengal to be better with the entire country. "I want to say the 'Khel' that you showed in UP, they (BJP) should have resigned from their post but they are shameless. They have tried every agency and every means possible but they have still lost...In North Bengal, our results have not been good but I hope in the coming days we will be winning there," she stated.
"Trinamool Congress is the only party whose 38 per cent of elected MPs are women. Before the elections, many claimed to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in politics but could not do it. We are the only party that ensured 38% women representation," she added.
Earlier, the TMC chief told reporters on Saturday that the event is not just a political gathering but a tribute to the 'Maa-Mati-Manush' (motherland, soil, and people) of Bengal. "It is meant to honour Bengal, safeguard its dignity, and protect the country," she said.
Quoting party sources, an Indian Express report said Mamamta Banerjee had also invited Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, but he was abroad. Representatives of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) may also attend the event.
The presence of Akhilesh and other INDIA alliance leaders is expected to boost the morale of the TMC cadre in the state.
After the rally, INDIA bloc partners Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav may also hold a meeting on the Opposition’s strategy for the Budget Session of Parliament (which begins on Monday).
For the past several years, Mamata Banerjee has used the Martyrs’ Day rally pulpit to set the Trinamool Congress’s roadmap for the next 12 months. The rally state also saw Banerjee's rivals endorsing her, like in 2018 when the West Bengal CM's arch-rival Somen Mitra joined the party.