TMC readies to take Mamata's 'Martyrs' Day' speech across India

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee would address the Martyrs' Day rally virtually at 2pm on Wednesday.

For the first time since the inception of Trinamool Congress two decades ago, the party's annual event— the Martyrs' Day programme— has taken up a pan-India shape and people across the country are anxiously waiting to listen to her speech.

In Delhi, giant screens will be put up at the Constitution Club of India and Trinamool Congress has invited leaders of the Opposition parties to join the programme.

Trinamool Congress MPs are in Delhi to attend the Monsoon session of the Parliament and they will also be present at the club.

Niraj Rai, president, Trinamool Congress in Uttar Pradesh said in Lucknow special arrangements had been made to facilitate people to listen to her speech. He said there was great enthusiasm among the people and arrangements had been made to so that people in the villages could listen to her. "There are people who have shown keen interest to listen to Mamata di's speech and people are making their own arrangements to that more people can listen to her," he maintained, adding in Varanasi—which is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi—some youths have put up screens for the locals to listen to her.

Her speech will be heard by the people in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Assam, where giant screens will be put up.

In Bengal, arrangements have been made so that people in all 341 blocks can listen to her speech. In south Kolkata, giant screens will be put up at several places, said Debashis Kumar, MLA from Rashbehari and south Kolkata district president of Trinamool Congress.

The martyr's column at Maidan will be garlanded. A makeshift Martys' column will be put up on Chittaranjan Avenue opposite CESC House where the programme used to be held before the pandemic.

Political experts said the triumphant victory of Trinamool Congress in the Assembly election had sent a message across the country that BJP could be defeated. Experts opined that People had been cornered because of the faulty policies of BJP like its failure to bring down the prices of petroleum products and cooking gas. BJP's dilly-dally over the farmers' issue has brought the farmers under one umbrella and they want to listen to Mamata Banerjee, they added.

On July 21, 1993, the police had opened fire to quell a protestors-led by Mamata Banerjee, who was demanding making voters' identity cards mandatory for election. Thirteen youths had been killed. Since then, the day is observed as Martyrs' Day.