‘Just a matter of time…20 rebel TMC MPs will be disqualified’: Mamata Banerjee

The Mamata-led party as well as the rebel TMC faction had applied to hold a rally of TMCP’s foundation day at Mayo Road. The Calcutta High Court, however, directed the Mamata faction to hold its rally at Cathedral Road and the rebel faction at Rani Rashmoni Road.

Expressing confidence that her party would “return to power very soon” in the state, she added, “Do not worry. Another change will unfold in Bengal. Soon, the Trinamool Congress will return to power. The BJP’s own people will answer the BJP.”

“The BJP has no organisation. It captured Bengal by theft. It is pressuring the police to do its work across the state. This time, I will file a case against the police. This kind of oppression cannot be allowed. I take a vow on Rakshabandhan. I will begin a tour of the districts. If permission is not granted, I will walk on foot,” Banerjee said.

“Wherever I see injustice, I will protest. Wherever I see oppression, I will resist. If somebody is unjustly arrested, stand up and question it. Let us see how many prisons are there, and how many people they can put in jail,” she added.

Criticising the police, Banerjee referred to a purported incident that occurred on Friday, saying three young men who had gone to offer namaz at a mosque near a gurdwara beside the rally venue were arrested by police when they stepped out.

“I do not recognise this police force. The police force I worked with was humane, not inhuman. They helped people. There may have been a couple of isolated incidents, but I have seen police personnel stand their ground, suffer injuries and shed blood. They did not run bulldozers over people, fire tear gas or bullets indiscriminately. They stood beside the people,” she said.

Banerjee also hit out at the Election Commission, saying it was “used to hijack the election” and that “votes were looted in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR)”.

“I have seen our workers arrested, party offices occupied and burned, people injured, stripped, forced through mud, humiliated, and even paraded in chains. I have seen what happened around Jadavpur University,” she added.

The former CM invited 10 hawkers, who allegedly faced harassment and lost their livelihoods during an eviction drive carried out allegedly at the behest of BJP, onto the stage. TMCP members then tied rakhis on their wrists and offered financial assistance.

Not a tiger but a cat: Ritabrata Banerjee

Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, without naming anyone, accused the Mamata-led TMC faction of colluding with the BJP. Addressing the TMCP foundation day rally, he mocked Banerjee’s claim of “fighting like a tiger,” saying she “might have meant a cat”.

“Now, this is a script prepared by the BJP in the past to turn that tiger into a cat,” Ritabrata said, adding, “The chief minister is talking about corruption in the Assembly, but the head of corruption worth thousands of crores of rupees is still roaming around in good health.”

“The Trinamool Congress made a mistake and that’s why the BJP came to power. But they are not taking any action for student union elections. On the contrary, they have placed their MLAs and MPs as heads of the college and university management committees. So what is the difference between you and Anilayan (referring to the late CPI leader Anil Biswas) and Mamatayan? In the coming days, our student leaders will stage a strong protest demanding college student union elections,” Ritabrata added.