KOLKATA: In a setback to both factions of the Trinamool Party (TMC), the Kolkata Police on Tuesday denied permission to hold the annual mega “Martyrs’ Day” rally near Victoria House at Esplanade on July 21, citing public inconvenience caused by traffic disruptions in the area.
This comes as a shocker to Mamata Banerjee, who has been organising the rally since 1993, when 13 youth Congress members were killed in police firing during the Left rule in Bengal. She was with the Congress then and broke away in 1998 to form TMC.
Lalbazar, the Kolkata police headquarters, informed both factions of the TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, and her rival camp, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, that no political rallies blocking one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares would be allowed at the Esplanade venue from now on. Both the rival factions had approached the police separately, seeking its permission for holding the rally.
The development came a day after police registered a case against TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh and party’s Rajya Sabha MP Dola Sen who were found inspecting the venue for the rally, allegedly obstructing the vehicular traffic movement in the area. Both Ghosh and Sen are loyal to Mamata.
While addressing the state Assembly on Monday, CM Suvendu Adhikari accused Ghosh and Sen of visiting the site and conducting measurements without prior police approval.
Suvendu suggested they go to the Brigade Parade Grounds for holding the rally if they expected a massive turnout.
After suffering a crushing defeat in the assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress is grappling with an unprecedented internal crisis that got aggravated with formation of a rival camp of more than 65 rebel party MLAs led by Ritabrata, a legislator from the Uluberia Purba constituency in Howrah, who claimed to be ‘real Trinamool’.
