Kolkata: Mamata vows to join CJP protests, says ‘jail better than BJP’

Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, 21 July declared that she was prepared to join protests organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), saying the fight against the BJP would go beyond party lines.

"We have relationships with many political parties beyond the INDIA bloc. We will fight together. In the coming days, we will all try to form an alliance in Bengal. Even if that doesn't happen, the INDIA bloc will fight. No one can stop what we are about to start," she said. "If needed, I will also go to CJP programmes. If all of us hit the roads, remember all the BJP leaders have to flee."

Speaking about the possibility of arrests during future protests, Banerjee said she was not afraid of going to prison. She said, "Eating rice in jail is always better than eating the BJP's rice. We will soon go to the districts. All of us will be there. Don't be scared. We are all ready to go to jail." 

Banerjee also asserted that her faction was the genuine TMC, taking a swipe at the newly-formed breakaway group led by Ritobrata Banerjee. "We are the real TMC. Just erecting sign boards does not make one real," she said. "Forgive us, but we have no further need for you," she added, referring to leaders she accused of siding with the BJP. "Instead of acting as a bolster for the BJP, just join the BJP."

Addressing party workers at the annual 21 July Martyrs' Day gathering at Mayo Road, Banerjee made a series of attacks against the BJP, the police and state administration. She alleged that the BJP had tried to disrupt the rally by sabotaging the stage and cutting power cables.

"The stage was dismantled at 10 pm. Sound system cables were cut. A gang of 600 bikers arrived. They returned at 11 pm and cut the sound cables again. The BJP is a party of the mentally unstable (taarkata). I know on whose orders this was done," she alleged. 

She thanked electricity workers for restoring the damaged connections, saying, "I am especially thankful to the electric people who ran all night to fix the cables that were cut by the BJP goons."

Banerjee also praised party workers who had travelled from different districts despite allegedly facing violence. "I salute our workers. Many of them who came from long distances like Malda have shown me their wounds. Many of our workers were attacked by the BJP and hurt," she said.

She claimed women party workers had caught suspects involved in the attacks. "Our women workers successfully apprehended criminals on two bikes, but they fled. The bikes were handed over to the police. However, I know who is behind this," she said.

The former chief minister alleged that donation boxes and valuables from temples in Barrackpore and Panihati had been looted, saying, "Ram temple money and items were stolen. Collection boxes were looted."

Calling for a united political struggle, Banerjee said, "We will all have to fight together to uphold democracy."

Banerjee accused police officers of acting on behalf of the BJP. "OCs and ICs are acting as BJP presidents," she alleged. She also claimed that names had been illegally removed from electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). "One day, people will come to know about vote loot and the names deleted illegally through SIR," she said.

Banerjee warned her political opponents against intimidating her. "Don't try to threaten me, or I will reveal the secrets that I know about you and what you had done for 10 years," she said.

She also claimed that innocent party workers arrested in different cases would eventually return with honour. "All innocent people who have gone to jail will be welcomed back with garlands after they come out," she said.

The TMC chief criticised the BJP over several issues, including employment, welfare schemes and governance. "Hawkers have been bulldozed, eggs have been cut from the midday meal, employees are losing their jobs, Lakshmir Bhandar is gone and government employees are now made to work for at least 12 hours," she alleged.

Questioning the payment of dearness allowance, she asked, "Why was the DA arrear not given until now? It is six months now (since her government announced it)."

She also accused the BJP of corruption, saying, "The BJP has started epic loot in the country and here they have reached the peak in just two months."

Banerjee insisted that neither she nor her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee were afraid despite alleged harassment "I don't have any security. Abhishek also does not have any security. Still we are not scared. You know how they are harassing Abhishek," she said.

Appealing to minority communities, she said, "I ask the minority people not to be afraid."

Banerjee claimed her party had not mobilised supporters by paying them. "We did not bring people with money. These people have come on their own and out of love," she said. She warned that if authorities denied permission for meetings, her party would organise marches instead. "They are not giving us permission for our meetings, so when I come to the districts, we might have to walk in rallies," she said.

She also declared, "This time we will play with bat and ball." Banerjee said her party's election symbol could not easily be taken away. "They cannot take away our symbol. I am sure the court will also not allow that. But if these corrupt people still take away our symbol, we will take away everything from them," she said.

She encouraged party workers to document any alleged harassment. "Get a small diary and keep writing how you are being tortured. Write what you are facing and note it down. Times will change again and then we can recall these things," she said. Warning of larger protests, Banerjee added, "If they continue to attack us like this, there will be Nabanna, Writers' and other abhiyaans."

She concluded by saying, "Our fight will go on from Kolkata to Delhi."

At the thinly-attended rally organised by rebel Ritabrata Banerjee group, several senior 'rebel' TMC leaders, including Firhad Hakim, Snehasis Chakraborty, Shiuli Saha, Arup Chakraborty, Anubrata Mondal, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan, Debashis Kumar, Madan Mitra, Krishna Chakraborty and Rabindranath Chattopadhyay, were present on the dais. Families of three 21 July martyrs, including those of Ranjit Das, Mohammad Khaled, Dilip Das and Ratan Mondal, also attended. 

Ritabrata Banerjee sharply criticised the TMC leadership over the 21 July martyrs and the Justice Chatterjee Commission report. "Martyrs' Day is not a stage for reality shows or catwalks. The families of the martyrs are often left in the background," Ritabrata said.

He alleged that the state government had suppressed the commission's findings, saying, "There is no point in forming a commission if its report is suppressed." Questioning Mamata Banerjee directly, he asked, "'Didi,' why didn't you publish the report? Why were the people of the state kept in the dark about it?"

He also claimed that although the commission had recommended Rs 25 lakh for the families of those killed and Rs 5 lakh for the injured, the government had paid only Rs 2 lakh and Rs 150,000 respectively.

Separately, the Congress held its own 21 July rally at Shahid Minar. Heavy rain left the ground waterlogged, impeding the entry of supporters into the venue. State Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar said, "We must make this rally a success despite the mud and water. I myself am standing right here in the mud and water, alongside the party workers." 

Veteran Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya also criticised the TMC government, demanding an investigation into why the Justice Chatterjee Commission report had allegedly been suppressed.