Kolkata, Jul 20 (PTI) Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday tabled in the Assembly an inquiry panel report on the 1993 police firing on a rally that killed 13 Youth Congress supporters, accusing the previous TMC government of exploiting the incident for political gains.
Tabling the Justice (retd) Sushanta Chatterjee Commission report a day ahead of the TMC’s July 21 annual rally, which commemorates those killed in the incident over three decades ago, Adhikari said the Mamata Banerjee dispensation had not acted on several important recommendations despite receiving the report in 2024.
“The commission recommended Rs 25 lakh as compensation for the families of each killed and Rs 5 lakh for every injured person. But the previous TMC government neither implemented these recommendations nor paid the compensation,” the chief minister said.
He alleged the Trinamool Congress had for years used the incident for political gains without ensuring justice for the victims.
The July 21 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 Mamata Banerjee disassociated from the Congress and formed the Trinamool Congress in the late 1990s, her party gradually took over the annual observance, holding massive rallies at Dharmatala every year.
Addressing the Assembly on Monday, CM Adhikari said, “The July 21 incident was used politically. Many people have built their political and personal fortunes on it.” Referring to the commission’s findings, he said it had concluded that there was no situation warranting police firing on the Youth Congress rally and questioned the circumstances that led to the use of force.
The chief minister also referred to evidence before the commission, claiming that former Leader of the Opposition Pankaj Banerjee, who had been cited as a witness, did not depose before the panel but alleged that then home secretary Manish Gupta was primarily responsible for the incident.
“He (Gupta) later became power minister in the TMC government. And the person who claims to be the biggest witness of the incident, Mamata Banerjee, was never called by the commission,” Adhikari said.
The Justice (retd) Sushanta Chatterjee Commission was set up by the Mamata Banerjee government in 2011 to probe the police firing on Youth Congress supporters marching towards Writers’ Buildings, the then state secretariat, on July 21, 1993.
Leading the rally against the then Left Front government, Mamata Banerjee herself was injured during the police action.
The commission examined more than 300 witnesses before submitting its report to the state government in 2024.
Among its recommendations were disciplinary action against several IPS officers who had served during the then Left Front government.
The report, however, was not tabled in the Assembly during the TMC government’s rule, nor was any official announcement made regarding the implementation of its recommendations. PTI PNT NSD
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