Kolkata: Trinamool Mahila Congress will take out a rally on International Women's Day on March 8, to protest against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The rally will start from Shraddhananda Park and end at Esplanade.
Chandrima Bhattacharya, president of Trinamool mahila Congress, said that the workers who will take part in the rally will be holding placards made in the shape of rice cooking pots. "The economic condition of the country has gone down from bad to worse. The GDP has gone down drastically during the tenure of the BJP-led Central government. As a consequence, unemployment has gone up alarmingly. Our demand is to provide jobs to the countrymen, which will help them feed their families." said Bhattacharya. Women Trinamool leaders including Shashi Panja, Mala Saha, Smita Bakshi and Siuli Saha were present at the press conference. "Rice is our main food. It is also a symbol of unity as a lot of rice needs to be cooked together. The BJP-led Central government is taking away the food from us. The Centre is not at all keen to help the women to become independent," Bhattacharya added.
According to Trinamool Mahila Congress leaders, the Centre had introduced 'Ujjwala' scheme for the people belonging to the Below Poverty level (BPL) strata by only providing connections.
However, the government did not provide any subsidy on the LPG cylinders and as a result people were unable to afford them. "Ujjwala scheme did not bring any light to the kitchen of people. Instead it became dark," Bhattacharya added.
This apart, she also criticised the statement by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar that there is no law and order in the state, raising questions about why the constitutional head is silent on the attack at Jamia Millia University.
"Our government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not indulge in violence like Delhi police did. The law and order situation in the state is fine," she added.
It may be mentioned that Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is the first leader who came onto the streets to protest against CAA and NRC. She has already taken part in nine rallies, including two in North Bengal.
She will take part in a rally next week at Ranaghat in Nadia district. Trinamool Mahila Congress leaders took part in the rallies as well and had organised a dharna at Esplanade.