KOLKATA: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday wrote a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her to ensure safe passage for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi.
Kharge, in his letter, said that he has learnt “some miscreants may foment trouble” for the Yatra in the coming days with the intention of showing the West Bengal administration in a bad light or to simply disrupt the yatra.
Kharge’s letter came at a time when Mamata, ruling out alliance with INDIA bloc partner Congress three days ago, announced that the Trinamool Congress will fight all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal alone.
Reminding Mamata of her cordial relations with the Gandhi family and requesting her to ensure the smooth passage of the Yatra, Kharge wrote, “I’m aware that the Gandhi family and you share very cordial relations and you would ensure that all security concerns would be addressed adequately. However, I thought it would be best if I personally write to you requesting for the same.”
Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra entered Bengal’s Cooch Behar on Thursday, a day after Mamata ruled out seat adjustment in Bengal. After spending a few hours in Bengal, Rahul Gandhi flew to Delhi on Thursday, taking a "Republic Day break" before the yatra restarts.
The Yatra is set to restart on Sunday. The event will cover Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, North Dinajpur before reaching Bihar. The yatra will re-enter West Bengal and pass through Malda and Murshidabad, two strongholds of the grand old party.
“The yatra is passing through Bengal over the next few days. I have been made aware that again some miscreants may foment trouble for the yatra. I am not sure if intention may be to show the state administration in bad light or to disrupt the yatra,” Kharge wrote.
The Congress veteran also referred to the face-off between Rahul Gandhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government in Assam.
“The first Bharat-Jodo Yatra went across the country without any untoward incident and culminated in a rally in Kashmir. However, you would be aware that some miscreants targeted the current Bharat Jodo Yatra in your neighbouring states. This has been done on political instigation but our cadre faced it bravely,” he noted.
A massive row erupted as Congress workers clashed with police and broke through barricades after they were stopped outside Assam’s Guwahati during the Yatra. A case was also registered against top leaders of the Congress, including Gandhi.
On Friday, the president of Congress’s West Bengal chapter, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged the TMC-led government was not permitting meetings linked to his party’s Nyay Yatra. A group of TMC supporters also staged demonstration at Cooch Behar shortly after Gandhi arrived.
Pronab Mondal