'Spending crores on virtual rally but not helping people'

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said that the party has not yet decided as to how the Martyrs' Day rally on 21 July will be observed in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

In reply to a question that whether the Martyrs' Day rally will be organised through a virtual platform, Banerjee said: "I am a member of a political party. Our party is like a family. I cannot give information on this without discussing it at the party."

She further said in this connection: "Holding a rally on a virtual platform is very expensive. Let us see the situation and then we will take the final decision."

This year it is going to be the 27th year of Martyrs'

Day that Trinamool Congress organises every year to pay respect to the 13 people who were killed in police firing during a procession on July 21 in 1993. They agitated demanding mandatory production voters' identity cards to cast votes.

For the past 26 years, Trinamool Congress organised Martyrs' Day programme infront of Victoria House at Esplanade where more than 10 lakh people poured in to listen to Banerjee every year. But this year, with the need of maintaining physical distance, the party is discussing on how to organise the same.

Without naming BJP, Banerjee has also taken a dig at the party saying they are spending crores of rupees for virtual rallies.

"Have they organised movement on the street and stood by

people in the past two months? Instead kept instigating

people from behind such virtual platforms," the TMC chief said. This comes when the Union Home Minister Amit Shah is going to hold a virtual political rally on Tuesday.

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said: "We hold video conferences with maximum 20 leaders or so.

There is a difference between such video conferences

and virtual rallies."