West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday threw a challenge before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by announcing that next year’s Shahid Diwas will be historic as the 2021 assembly poll results will be memorable.
Addressing a first-ever virtual Shahid Diwas public rally from Kalighat in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said, “Next year, after the historic assembly poll results, we will commemorate a historic Shahid Diwas on July 21, 2021. We hope, by next year the Covid-19 crisis will be under control. And I would like to tell my people in Bengal that it will be a historic Shahid Diwas in 2021. There is no doubt that we are going to form the government in Bengal in 2021 with the blessings of my people. Let’s work for BJP’s ‘jamanat japt'."
Every year, July 21 is observed by Mamata in remembrance of 13 Youth Congress workers who were killed in police firing on that day in 1993 while she was leading a protest march over the demand to make voter’s identity card the sole required document for voting.
Over the years, the rally has transformed into an opportunity for the TMC chairperson to show her political strength to opponents. Every year, lakhs of people gathered at Kolkata’s Maidan area to attend the Shahid Diwas programme but this time Mamata addressed it from a virtual platform considering the pandemic.
Expressing regret over failing to organise the function in a big way at Kolkata’s iconic Esplanade due to Covid-19, the chief minister said, “I am disheartened that this year, we have failed to organise today’s event at Esplanade. But I would like to thank my party workers for listening to my speech at 62,600 booths. I am thankful to my ground-level workers that they are already gearing up for next year's historic assembly polls in Bengal. I would like to tell all my leaders and workers to pull up their socks to fight against the BJP’s conspiracy to divide people in the name of religion, caste and creed.”
Terming the BJP as "outsiders", Mamata said, “Bengal can take care of itself. We don’t need BJP outsiders to take care of Bengal. Those (BJP) who are insulting Bengal, will have to pay a heavy price for it. A handful of faceless people who don’t have any ideology are trying to terrorise the people across the country because they are in power at the Centre. They are trying to gag our voice through terror.”
Mamata said the BJP should understand that the people had not forgotten the citizenship issue or the loss of lives during the Delhi riots. "They are conspiring to overthrow my government in Bengal. They are conspiring to overthrow other governments in India. They indulged in loot of public money and became richer. They converted the election into a dirty game. Why did they overthrow the government at Madhya Pradesh? Why are they trying to topple the government in Rajasthan? They are playing a dirty game to take control of all the states,” she added.
“If they are indulging in such cheap politics to take control of all the states, then I would like to ask them, why hold elections? Let them bring the ‘kala kanoon’ (black law). Let there be President’s rule all over. Let them implement the formula of ‘one nation, one political Party’. The BJP’s intention is dangerous as it is power hungry. They are not for the people but they are for themselves. They don’t believe in the freedom of each and every person of the country including police, teachers, professors, farmers, migrant workers, students, journalists, etc...Don’t play with fire and if you think that you will scare me with agencies then you are mistaken. I fought throughout my life and I would like to tell you that an injured tiger is more dangerous than a dead one. Let’s call for democratic ‘badla’ (revenge) to free Bengal from these conspirators (BJP),” she said.
Mamata also urged youths to come forward so that the party would get a young force to take over the reins in the future.
“I will not be there forever, therefore I would like to prepare a team of young people who will run my party in future,” she added.
She also accused the Centre of not releasing funds for migrant workers, farmers and people hit by cyclone Amphan.
While appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengal after the natural disaster, she said, “I don’t want to demean anyone here. But it is unfortunate that we are still awaiting the Centre’s funds for Amphan.”
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