Kolkata, Jun 27 (PTI) In a fresh twist to the ongoing legitimacy battle within the TMC, both the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and the rebel group on Saturday staked claim to holding the party’s July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally at its traditional central Kolkata street venue, amid speculation that police may deny permission for the proposed Victoria House site.
While TMC joint national secretary Dola Sen said the Banerjee faction had written to Kolkata Police seeking permission to hold the programme at its regular Dharmatala site, the Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident group said it too would apply for permission to organise the event at the same location.
The rebel faction, however, said it was open to shifting the programme to an alternative venue if permission was denied, although Dharmatala remained its preferred choice.
Police were yet to respond to the requests till the last reports came in.
“We have written to Kolkata Police commissioner seeking permission to hold the party’s Shahid Divas programme at the same venue where we have been holding it for the last few decades. Our leader Mamata Banerjee will address our workers from that meeting, like she has been doing in all the previous years,” Sen said.
“It is our party’s most important central programme and is now part of our-socio-political culture,” she added.
Sen argued that if the government can keep an iconic central Kolkata thoroughfare, the Red Road, blocked for seven days to hold the International Yoga Divas programme where Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated, the same norm should also apply to the Martyrs’ Day rally when a road in the same area will remain closed to traffic for a few hours.
“We have no objections to the Yoga Day function. But our party has been paying its respects to martyrs for the last 33 years and at this very same venue, not just for the last 15 years we were in power in the state. We expect the police to cooperate,” Sen said.
Emerging from a meeting of ex-TMC councillors of the now-dissolved Kolkata Municipal Corporation board, dissident party MLA and the chief whip of TMC legislative party Akhruzzaman said the faction aimed to “remove dilutions” from the solemn event.
“Over the past few years, the event was relegated to a show of Tollywood celebrities. We will hold the meeting with family members of the martyrs with the importance and solemnity it deserves,” he said.
“The Victoria House location remains our primary choice of venue. But we may collectively decide on an alternative site to hold the programme, if police deny us permission to hold the rally at that place, citing public inconvenience,” he added.
The July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally traces its origins to 1993, when supporters of the then Bengal Youth Congress, led by Mamata Banerjee, marched to the state secretariat, Writers’ Building, demanding that voter identity cards be made the sole proof of identity for casting votes.
The demonstration turned violent after clashes with police, who opened fire on protesters, killing 13 Youth Congress supporters and injuring many others.
The incident became a defining moment in Banerjee’s political career and a symbol of resistance against the then Left Front government.
After founding the Trinamool Congress in 1998, Banerjee institutionalised July 21 as ‘Shahid Divas’ (Martyrs’ Day), holding an annual mass rally in Kolkata to commemorate those killed in the 1993 firing.
Over the years, the event has evolved into the party’s largest political gathering, serving both as a memorial to the victims and as a platform for announcing the TMC’s political agenda and organisational strategy.
The latest speculation over the rally venue comes amid reports of police denying permission for several street programmes proposed by the Banerjee-led faction of the TMC in recent times, prompting a political confrontation between the government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and the TMC supremo.
The most prominent instance came ahead of TMC’s planned June 2 sit-in at Rani Rashmoni Avenue, where police refused permission, citing administrative considerations.
Despite the denial, Banerjee proceeded with a protest at the Y-channel in Esplanade, accusing the BJP government of suppressing democratic dissent and daring authorities to arrest her.
According to the party, currently riddled with wide factional cracks, the refusals form part of a broader pattern of restricting opposition activity on Kolkata’s streets since the BJP assumed office in West Bengal.
Banerjee has alleged that police are being used to weaken her party and warned that if demonstrations continue to be blocked in Kolkata, TMC could shift its protests to New Delhi.
The TMC alleged that police denied permission for other programmes, including protests near railway stations such as Howrah and Ballygunge, fuelling allegations that the administration is selectively limiting opposition mobilisation in public spaces.
While the state government has not accepted TMC’s charge of political bias, police have maintained that permissions are determined on administrative and law-and-order grounds.
“The party will observe July 21 regardless of administrative restrictions and will hold its programme even if permission for a conventional stage is denied. If necessary, the programme would be conducted from a Gypsy using a microphone, but the event would not be cancelled,” said Mahua Moitra, Banerjee loyalist and TMC MP.
“The administration could attempt to restrict transportation, including trains, buses, and other routes, to prevent party supporters from attending the programme. But the July 21 event will definitely take place under any circumstances,” she added. PTI SMY MNB
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