Kolkata, Jul 21 (PTI) The West Bengal Congress held its Martyrs’ Day programme here on Tuesday after several years, commemorating the youth wing workers killed in the 1993 police firing, and said the attendance at the gathering was a testament to the party’s revival in the state.
It also announced organising a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata early next year that would be addressed by the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Tuesday’s rally also saw senior Congress leaders launching sharp attacks on both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, while former state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asserted the party would return to power at the Centre under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
Martyrs’ Day traces its origins to July 21, 1993, when 13 Youth Congress workers were killed in police firing during a rally led by Mamata Banerjee at Esplanade during the Left Front regime. The Congress had declared the day as Martyrs’ Day in memory of those killed.
After Banerjee quit the Congress and floated the Trinamool Congress in the late 1990s, her party gradually took over the annual observance, organising massive rallies at Dharmatala every year.
This year, however, the observance saw separate programmes by the Mamata Banerjee-led group and the dissenting Ritabrata Banerjee faction following a split within the party after its defeat in the Assembly elections that prompted the Congress to reclaim the occasion with its own gathering.
The Congress’ programme at the iconic Shaheed Minar, a 157-foot-tall British-era tower in central Kolkata, however, had hints of factional undercurrents, as a section of workers raised slogans in support of state unit president Subhankar Sarkar when his predecessor, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, arrived at the venue.
Chowdhury brushed aside the slogan-shouting and praised Sarkar for the turnout.
“The area around Shaheed Minar has overflowed with supporters. Police are not allowing many of our workers to reach the venue. Such a large gathering is a major success for the Congress,” the former Baharampur MP said.
Terming the rally a hint of the party’s revival, he said, “This is only the trailer. Change is inevitable, and it will be evident in the next Lok Sabha elections.” Addressing party workers, Chowdhury claimed the political mood in the country was changing in favour of the Congress.
“A wave of change is sweeping across the country. It will no longer be Narendra Modi. This time, the Congress will form government under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. There will be a Congress resurgence,” he said.
The former Baharampur MP also took a swipe at the Trinamool Congress, describing the programmes of the two factions of that party, at Mayo Road and Birla Planetarium, as a “circus”.
He also alleged that the annual Martyrs’ Day observance had been reduced to a political festival.
Targeting the BJP, Chowdhury alleged that donations made by devotees for the Ram Temple had been misused. “They looted the money donated by devotees. They are travelling in expensive cars and building palatial houses,” he alleged.
Addressing the gathering, Sarkar claimed that 11 Congress workers were injured on their way to the programme and admitted to the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital.
He also announced a series of organisational programmes beginning next month.
“We will organise street-corner meetings from August 9 to August 14 and hoist the national flag at midnight on Independence Day,” Sarkar said.
He also said the party would hold a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground between January 15 and February 15 next year. “Rahul Gandhi will attend the rally,” the state Congress chief said.
National Youth Congress leader Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress was acting at the BJP’s behest.
“Here, the rebel Trinamool Congress is being controlled by the BJP. They are the BJP’s B-team. We are not afraid of Amit Shah. We will take to the streets, and you will see what happens,” he said.
Senior Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi also attacked both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.
“Today we are observing the real Martyrs’ Day. In previous years, it had become Mamata Banerjee’s programme,” she said, while accusing the BJP of undermining democracy.
Mausam Benazir Noor urged party workers to strengthen the organisation in West Bengal while Ashutosh Chatterjee said the return of the party’s Martyrs’ Day programme to Shaheed Minar after 15 years reflected its growing organisational strength in the state.
“All of Bengal, all of Kolkata is watching. After 15 years, the Congress is holding the Martyrs’ Day event here at the Shaheed Minar. This is the genuine observance of the day,” Chatterjee said.
He said the Congress event was “not just an egg-and-rice gathering, nor will you see any buffoons here”.
The Congress leader was alluding to the TMC serving egg curry and rice to its supporters who used to gather here in droves from across the state for the massive observance of Martyrs’ Day event till last year.
“This is a true fight for justice, a battle the Congress and the Youth Congress have been waging since day one,” he added. PTI SCH NSD
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