The Bharatiya Janata Party will on Friday gherao block development offices across West Bengal in a protest against Trinamool Congress alleging the ruling party of irregularities in the panchayat polls held earlier this month. The programme was announced by state party president Sukanta Majumdar on Wednesday and comes on the same as day the TMC holds its annual Martyrs' Day rally in the state capital Kolkata. Majumdar had accused a section of state government officials of aiding and abetting false voting, looting of ballots and booth jams during the rural poll in more than 6,000 booths.
On Wednesday, Majumdar, along with other state-level senior party leaders like Suvendu Adhikari, former state presidents Dilip Ghosh, Rahul Sinha, besides Agnimitra Paul, Locket Chatterjee walked in a rally from Kolkata’s College Square to Esplanade area protesting against alleged rigging by TMC activists across West Bengal during the rural poll. More than 2000 BJP activists participated in the rally.
Meanwhile, the TMC hit back at the saffron party saying it was trying to foment trouble on July 21, which has become synonymous with the sacrifice of life by martyrs for the restoration of democracy in the state.
BJP seems not to have learnt any lesson despite being rejected by the people of Bengal in successive polls, said TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen.
TMC claimed that the saffron party is trying to foment trouble on July 21, which has become synonymous with the ultimate sacrifice of martyrs on the day 30 years ago in 1993 for the restoration of democracy.
Dilip Ghosh said TMC observes July 21 as Martyrs' Day but has forgotten the ultimate sacrifice of 13 Congress activists who fell to police bullets in 1993 for free and fair voting and upholding of democratic values.