Monday, 21 July 2025
Monday, 21 July 2025
On the eve of Trinamool Congress’s annual July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday alleged that opposition parties are trying to derail the event, which the ruling party plans to turn into a show of strength ahead of next year’s assembly polls.
Describing the rally as a “battle for democracy against authoritarianism”, Banerjee said the massive gathering commemorating the 1993 police firing on Youth Congress workers would also serve to counter the BJP’s alleged “humiliation” of Bengali-speaking migrants in saffron-ruled states.
“You called parallel rallies. Go ahead. But people are with us,” Banerjee said, taking aim at the BJP’s decision to hold simultaneous rallies in Siliguri and Paschim Bardhaman.
While inspecting preparations at Esplanade, the chief minister told reporters, “When someone announces a rally to Nabanna, we don’t object. But when TMC calls for a democratic protest, you grow jittery.”
Banerjee also invoked the legacy of July 21, 1993, when 13 young protestors were killed in police firing during a rally she led as the then Youth Congress leader demanding voter ID cards as mandatory for franchise.
“The CPI(M) made the police fire on our supporters. Blood-soaked bodies were lying right here. We remember them as martyrs who died defending democracy,” she said.
Over the years, the rally has become the TMC’s biggest political mobilisation, with lakhs expected to pour into Kolkata this year, braving incessant rains and flood-like conditions in some districts.
The Trinamool supremo also took aim at the BJP, accusing it of detaining bona fide Bengali-speaking citizens in states like Assam, Maharashtra, and Gujarat under suspicion of being “illegal infiltrators”.
“Being born a Bengali has become a crime in BJP states. They torture people just for speaking in Bengali. This is linguistic profiling and criminalisation of identity,” Banerjee said.
In recent weeks, the TMC has sought to reignite the regional identity plank that helped it blunt the BJP’s Hindutva push in the 2021 assembly polls. The party has framed the July 21 rally as a campaign to restore “Bengali self-respect”.
“This isn’t just about votes. This is about dignity, identity and survival,” a senior TMC MP said.
The political temperature has risen steadily, with the BJP accusing the TMC of playing the victim card to divert attention from governance failures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said in Durgapur that the BJP alone “protects Bengali asmita”.
Security across Kolkata has been heightened, with party flags, banners and TMC-themed graffiti dominating the cityscape. From packed local trains to trucks and buses painted in party colours, supporters have been arriving since Saturday.
TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited several lodging centres to oversee arrangements for party workers who have travelled long distances.
Banerjee also referred to the release of over 1.3 lakh cusecs of water from reservoirs, which has led to flooding in southern districts. “Despite all this, people are coming. We salute their spirit,” she said.
In a social media post later, Banerjee paid tribute to those killed in 1993, calling them “martyrs of democracy”. She also took a dig at opposition parties for not cleaning rally venues post-event. “We clean our spots. That’s the difference,” she remarked.
The July 21 rally, which began as a remembrance event, is now being projected as the launchpad for the TMC’s 2026 campaign, with an emotional and combative Mamata Banerjee once again positioning herself as the defender of Bengal’s pride.
(With inputs from PTI)
