Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee addressed a mega rally here on Monday on the occasion of the Martyrs’ Day.
Her Trinamool Congress (TMC) party commemorates July 21 as Martyrs Day, to pay homage to its youth workers who were killed by police gunfire on July 21, 1993, during the CPI (M) regime.
The police fired on the activists when they tried to storm into the state Secretariat to meet the then chief minister, Jyoti Basu.
Over the years, the party has turned this day into an annual rally, as a show of strength, and also a platform where it maps direction for party workers.
This was the first time Banerjee was attending such a rally, after the general election in May this year, where TMC won 34 of 42 parliamentary seats in the state.
Banerjee took the occasion to heavily criticise the BJP and even warned the party against playing communal politics in the state.
“They have won just two seats and are harbouring great expectations. They will be reduced to zero in the next election,” the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said.
Banerjee also slammed the BJP ‘loyalists’ in the state, saying those who are favouring the saffron party would soon see the TMC growing bigger.
She also warned a section of TMC workers, who of late had been using the party for “antisocial activities”.
“Some people are lobbying to become leader which is not the way to work forward. In TMC, you have to work with the people for the people, the party will recognise you.”
The mega-rally disrupted normal life in Kolkata, as the city came to a complete standstill.
According to police estimates, more than a million people had gathered in the city centre for the rally. The majority of office workers chose to take the day off as few buses were available, and large procession headed towards the city since early morning.
“Before becoming chief minister she had promised not to organise any rallies on a working day, as it virtually turns into a undeclared strike. Hope she had remembered that. Such rallies can easily be organised on Sunday, which would have made life much easier,” said Pritam Ghosh an office goer.
Others complained of long traffic snarls as the city was clogged since early morning.
“We got stuck in the morning due to a procession and were late for school. We do not know when we will reach home as all the roads are just closed with people,” said a student, who was forced to attend school due to ongoing examinations.
