Kolkata turns into blue fortress

On a week day, amid all the humdrum around the flow of life in your sheltered nook, you could not escape the rhetoric of ‘paribartan’. In bright sunshine, lakhs will pour in at Red Road on Friday — venue for the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

There are no special cards or passes for the mega event. “It is a government of Ma, Mati and Manus and people are most welcome to be present. Seats will be reserved for them on first-come-first-serve basis. There will be giant screens that will be put up on Red Road for everyone to watch the ceremony,” said Banerjee. An arrangement for 20,000 people has been made.

Emerging out of the heightened political consciousness of the people of Bengal, the first woman Chief Minister of the state will embark upon a spate of administrative reconstruction for the second time on Friday.

The historic Red Road — the venue — in the heart of Kolkata has been closed for almost a week in order to facilitate preparations for Banerjee’s swearing-in event. The road which connects Kidderpore and places in South Kolkata to Edens, Burrabazar and Dalhousie will be closed till May 29 morning. 

This is happening for the first time in the history of the City of Joy that this road which was built in 1820 to serve as a landing strip for fighter aircraft during World War II has been closed for vehicular movement.

Opening her second innings with 211 seats with the Opposition garnering a meager 76 seats, Mamata Banerjee has deviated from the tradition this time. 

Swearing-in ceremonies have always been held at the Raj Bhavan.  This time, while selecting the venue, Banerjee had said: “It is the government of the masses and so we will take oath on the road.” The Alipore Meteorological Office has predicted bright sunshine throughout the day.

The swearing-in ceremony is going to be a grand affair in the presence of Central ministers and other dignitaries from neighbouring countries. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and C P Joshi, AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal along with Ambika Soni will grace the occasion. Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM, will also be present.

The Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay and the Industry minister of Bangladesh will also be present. The dignitaries from different consulates will also be there. Superstars Amitabh Bachan and Shah Rukh Khan are also expected to be present. 

The whole city has been decorated in blue and white flags and festoons have been set up. The stages will wear predominantly blue and white colours.  

The Left Front, Congress and BJP leaders are going to boycott the swearing-in ceremony. Governor K N Tripathi will administer the oath of secrecy at 12.45 pm.