Trinamool turns 22, observes 'Citizens' Day' in protest of CAA

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday observed its 22nd Foundation Day as 'Citizens' Day' as a mark of protest against the amended Citizenship Act.

On the occasion, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "#Trinamool22 Today @AITCofficial turns 22. The journey which began on January 1, 1998 has been full of struggles, but we have been steadfast in our resolve to fight for the people. We thank Maa-Mati-Manush for their constant support. Our workers are our biggest assets. #Trinamool22 We are observing the foundation day of @AITCofficial as 'Nagorik Dibas' (Citizens Day) in every booth of #Bangla. We all are citizens and Trinamool will continue to fight for the rights of the people. Jai Hind. Jai Bangla."

To commemorate the day, Subrata Bakshi, state president of Trinamool Congress, hoisted the party flag. A meeting was held in south Kolkata where beside Bakshi, party MP Mala Roy was also present. Meetings were held in all the 341 blocks and district headquarters in the state. The TMC supremo had last week instructed party workers to conduct various programmes to mark the occasion.

On January 1, 1998 Mamata Banerjee had set up Trinamool Congress with the aim to oust the CPI(M) after she found that it was not possible for Congress to put an end to left rule in Bengal.

Banerjee at the time had led sustained movements against the CPI(M).

In the 2008 Panchayat elections, the Left Front lost two Zilla Parishad to Trinamool — East Midnapore and South 24-Parganas. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections the Trinamool got 19 seats. In the 2010 in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation elections the party bagged 97 out of 141 (then KMC had 141 seats) and subsequently the party came to power in 2011 after winning 184 out of 294 seats. In the 2016 Assembly elections Trinamool got 211 out of 294 seats.

Over the past few years Mamata Banerjee has become the face of the Opposition in Centre, as she was the first person to react against any anti-people move the Modi-led BJP government takes.

She was the first leader to react against the decision of the Centre to ban high value currency notes on November 8, 2016. Half-an-hour after the Prime Minister announced the banning of high value notes, she had described the move as "anti-people and said that it would affect India's economy adversely." Later, most of the economists from India and abroad had echoed her voice.

Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee had tried hard to organise the Opposition and to bring them under one umbrella. A massive rally was held at the Brigade Parade ground in January 2019, in which all front ranking leaders representing the Opposition parties took part. However, the United India move could not take-off properly due to differences that cropped up among them. Banerjee, has also been at the forefront in opposing the CAA and NRC in Bengal and across India, she has been crisscrossing the state, holding protest marches and rallies against the new citizenship law.

She alleged that through NRC and CAA the BJP was actually trying to divide the Hindus and the Muslims. She has taken part in five rallies in Kolkata and will visit north Bengal where she will lead a rally on January 3.

Moreover, it was seen that during the swearing in ceremony of Hemant Soren as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Banerjee became the central figure.