It also announced organising a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata early next year that would be addressed by the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
The West Bengal Congress on Tuesday held its Martyrs' Day programme in Kolkata after several years, commemorating the youth wing workers killed in the 1993 police firing, and said the attendance at the gathering marked the party's revival in the state.
Key Points
- Martyrs' Day traces its origins to July 21, 1993, when 13 Youth Congress workers were killed in police firing during a rally led by Mamata Banerjee at Esplanade during the Left Front regime.
- The Congress had declared the day as Martyrs' Day in memory of those killed.
- The Congress took the opportunity to organise its own programme at the iconic Shaheed Minar, a 157-foot-tall British-era tower in central Kolkata.
It also announced organising a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata early next year that would be addressed by the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
Martyrs' Day traces its origins to July 21, 1993, when 13 Youth Congress workers were killed in police firing during a rally led by Mamata Banerjee at Esplanade during the Left Front regime.
The Congress had declared the day as Martyrs' Day in memory of those killed. After Mamata Banerjee disassociated from the Congress and formed the Trinamool Congress in the late 1990s, her party gradually took over the annual observance, holding massive rallies at Dharmatala every year.
With the TMC suffering a rift after losing assembly polls this year, the observance was quite lacklustre this year, with the Mamata Banerjee faction and the rebel group led by Ritabrata Banerjee holding separate programmes.
The Congress took the opportunity to organise its own programme at the iconic Shaheed Minar, a 157-foot-tall British-era tower in central Kolkata.
The programme, however, brought to the fore murmurs of factionalism within the Congress' state unit, as a section of workers raised slogans in support of West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar when his predecessor Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury arrived at the venue.
Chowdhury, however, sought to downplay the development and praised Sarkar for the turnout at the rally.
"The area around Shaheed Minar has overflowed with supporters. Police are not allowing many of our workers to reach the venue. Such a large gathering is a major success for the Congress," the former Baharampur MP said.
Asserting that this was only a trailer, he said, "Change is inevitable, and it will be evident in the next Lok Sabha elections."
Addressing the gathering, Sarkar alleged that 11 Congress workers were injured while on their way to the programme and have been admitted to the R G Kar Hospital.
Announcing a series of organisational programmes over the next few months, he said, "We will organise street-corner meetings from August 9 to August 14 and hoist the national flag on the midnight of Independence Day."
The state Congress chief also announced that the party would hold a rally at Brigade Parade Ground between January 15 and February 15 next year.
"Rahul Gandhi will attend the rally," he said. National Youth Congress leader Uday Bhanu Chib launched a diatribe against the BJP, alleging that the rebel Trinamool Congress faction was being controlled by the saffron party.
"Here, the rebel Trinamool Congress is being controlled by the BJP. They are the BJP's B-team. We are not afraid of Amit Shah. We will take to the streets, and you will see what happens," he said.
Senior Congress leader Deepa Dasmunsi also criticised the Trinamool Congress, saying that for years, the day was used for "display of power".
