Hours ahead of her address in an open rally in the heart of the city, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the TMC chairperson, today paid glowing tributes to 13 “martyrs” to mark ‘Shahid Divas’ , a flagship annual political programme of the ruling party.
“I pay my tributes to my fellow 13 fighters who laid down their lives in the face of CPI(M) police’s brutality, who opened indiscriminate firing on them on July 21,1993,” Banerjee said on her X handle.
“Bandhan Das, Murari chakraborty, Ratan Mondal, Bioswanath Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Ashim Das, Keshab Bairagi, Sreekanta Sharma, Dilip Das, Ranjit Das, Pradip Roy, Md Khalek and Inu became the martyrs in the police firing,” as they had taken part in the rally to protest the CPI(M) alleged misrule.
Banerjee called upon the people to come and attend the open rally at Esplanade to mark ‘Shahid Divas’ to remember their contribution.
“We observe the day as a solemn tribute to the 13 brave souls who laid down their lives in the fight for Maa, Mati, and Manush, and as a reaffirmation of our commitment to protect our constitutional values at any cost,” the Trinamool Congress chief said.
She said the right to vote freely, fearlessly, and with dignity — “something we take for granted today” — was once denied to the people of Bengal under an oppressive regime that silenced dissent and shut doors on democracy.
Her target this time was the BJP, as she reiterated that the Bengali-speaking people have been harassed in the BJP-ruled states across the country in recent times.
Banerjee, visited the venue of the open rally to ensure that all arrangements were in place for the programme, including proper accommodation for the invitees and seating for the media.
“To the people of Bengal, I say this: Come peacefully, come in strength. Even if it rains, let it be seen as the tears of the martyrs reminding us of why we gather, why we remember, and why we must never stop fighting for democracy,” the Chief Minister said.
This time the TMC meeting has an added feature as the state goes to the assembly polls in the next 10-11 months. The ruling party would spell out its line for the election to maintain its supremacy in the electoral battle for the 4th straight time.
Anticipating a huge gathering at the heart of the city on the first day of the week, the Calcutta High Court has restricted the rally between 9 am and 11 am allowing the office goers to reach their destinations on time.
Many educational institutions in parts of central, northern and southern sections are either closed or have declared virtual classes.
Reacting to an appeal in the High Court about the TMC meeting, the CM said: “We hold only one meeting in a year in the open, that too, has been opposed by some.” The meeting will be held near the iconic Tipu Sultan Masjid at Esplanade crossing, where all roads from other parts of the state are expected to witness a huge rush.
Hundreds of people in groups have already arrived many others are pouring in from Saturday.
Banerjee is expected to set the tone for the high-voltage campaign for the assembly election, scheduled for the first part of 2026. She is expected to take on the BJP on the issue of “Bengali” speaking people allegedly being harassed and kept in detention in various states. She alleged that these migrants in BJP-ruled states were being subjected to linguistic profiling in the name of national security and detained.
