Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday said a three-member delegation will meet Governor C V Ananda Bose in Darjeeling on Saturday in response to his call but asserted that the indefinite sit-in outside the Governor’s House will continue till the Raj Bhavan occupant meets the protesters here.
Banerjee also said that the sit-in demonstration will continue till the Governor gives satisfactory answers to their questions as to why the poor people have been deprived. He said that the demonstration may continue till Puja unless the Governor sees the letters of the poor job card holders.
“We will spend our Puja here if need be,” Banerjee added.
“The Governor has sent a letter requesting us to meet him in Darjeeling tomorrow. Respecting his position, we have decided to send a three-member delegation to the Hills, just to convey to him that he should come to Kolkata and meet the job card holders who have been deprived. Our indefinite sit-in here will continue until then,” Abhishek said while addressing the protest programme here. Bose, who recently visited flood-affected areas in North Bengal, had left for Delhi on Thursday evening. Banerjee on the second day of an indefinite sit-in demonstration took a jibe at the Governor’s comment on “Ghar-ao (come to house) “ referring to Trinamool’s “Gherao”. Banerjee said: “We did not block any of the gates of Raj Bhavan. The Governor is not in his residence then how does he say “Ghar-ao”. I am two minutes away from the Governor House but he will need at least two hours to come from Delhi.”
“On Thursday we announced that the demonstration will continue till the Governor meets our delegation. An email was sent saying that the Governor was busy in North Bengal. He was busy inspecting flood-affected areas and was ready to meet our delegation in Siliguri. We later came to know he flew to Delhi from North Bengal. He is the Governor of Bengal and not of Delhi. Why did he go to Delhi? He could have stayed in North Bengal or could have returned to Kolkata. Did he go to Delhi to take instruction? We are calling this zamindari,” Banerjee said.
Echoing the demands of lakhs of deprived beneficiaries under MGNREGA and Awas Yojana, Banerjee questioned the Governor’s decision to ignore the people of Bengal. He reiterated that the TMC leaders would not budge an inch from the “dharna” site till the questions of the people are answered.
Banerjee wrote on Facebook: “Our battle against the ZAMINDARS rages on, fiercer than ever. Today, on Day 2, we picked up right where we left off, determined to continue our dharna until the Governor agreed to meet our delegation. The era of evading difficult questions is over. It’s time to face us and provide answers.”
He stated: “Why, for two long years, has the BJP-led Central Government withheld the rightful payments of 20 lakh wage laborers who toiled under the 100 Days of Work Scheme? Under what section of what law is that justified? We won’t yield. We won’t break. Our resolve is unwavering, our determination unshakeable. Justice for Bengal’s rural poor is not negotiable. We stand strong, and we will prevail!” The party’s National General Secretary is also scheduled to address the people this evening.
Countering Thursday’s statement by Bose, TMC said: “It seems the Governor cannot see the irony behind his poetic words. Let’s make it clear. Ignoring the plight of the rural poor from almost the past two years is ZAMINDARI. Sitting in the “cozy city palaces” of Delhi, playing favorites in releasing funds is ZAMINDARI. Using brute force through armed officials against people protesting peacefully, demanding their rights, is ZAMINDARI. Using Central agencies to suppress dissent, spewing lies and always taking the back door to avoid confrontation is ZAMINDARI.”
It further stated: “It is good that the Governor is taking his duties seriously and visiting flood-affected areas, but we just have a few questions: WHERE was this concern when 9 innocent lives were lost in a blast in Egra because they had to take up a hazardous job, since 100 days of work had been stopped due to lack of funding? WHERE was this concern when three innocent children died in Bankura because the mud wall of their _kuccha_ house collapsed? WHERE has been your conscience from the past few months when many such lives have been lost due to lack of housing facilities and means of livelihood? Expressing concern when convenient is not catering to _Maa, Mati and Manush_, it is to ALWAYS stand tall against all those who try to disrupt, destroy or deprive your people and State.”
Governor in his press statement late on Thursday evening said: “Going to zameen (mati, soil) is not zamindari. Refusing to go to zameen and controlling the farmers from cozy city palaces is neo-zamindari. Mati is sacred for the Governor and so are the maanush who live by the mati. Going to villages means going to the grassroots which in Bengali means trinamool. It is news that the Trinamool wants others to keep off the trinamool. What does it fear? Does it fear that its zamindari is at stake? Guv was told they are gherao the Raj Bhavan, Guv’s response- ‘Gherao nahi Ghar aao’.”