Mamata retains grip over July 21 legacy, launches statewide anti-BJP movement

The battle for the legacy of July 21 may have been fought on three different stages this year, but it ended with Mamata Banerjee firmly retaining ownership of the political movement that shaped her career.

Even the Congress’s attempt to reclaim the 1993 agitation as a Youth Congress movement ended up reaffirming Mamata Banerjee’s ownership of its political legacy.

Also read | Suvendu revives 1993 police firing report to undermine Mamata’s Martyrs’ Day legacy

At its Shahid Minar programme, the party prominently displayed photographs of Banerjee confronting the police, enduring baton charges and leading the protest march against the then Left Front government.

Three stages, one winner

The Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction, despite fielding almost the entire top leadership of the erstwhile TMC on its dais, failed to match Banerjee’s street mobilisation, with her rally at Cathedral Road in front of the Birla Planetarium drawing a substantially larger crowd.

The show of strength was politically significant for Banerjee. Coming after the TMC’s electoral defeat and the departure of several senior leaders to the rival camp, Tuesday’s turnout appeared to reassure her that the party’s grassroots support remained largely undiminished.

Buoyed by the response, Banerjee used the annual Martyrs’ Day rally to formally announce her decision to launch a sustained statewide agitation against the BJP government, urging workers to take the movement to every district and calling on all anti-BJP political parties to unite in what she described as a fight to protect democracy.

Declaring that the Trinamool's movement had “only begun”, Banerjee vowed to remain on the streets until what she called “intimidation and injustice” came to an end. “I will continue travelling across every district and remain among the people,” she said. “Even if permission is denied, I am prepared to walk the streets.”

She urged party workers not to stay indoors despite arrests and criminal cases. “We cannot remain inside our homes. We must step out and stand on the streets in defence of democracy,” she said, asking supporters not to fear imprisonment if cases were filed against them for participating in democratic protests.

Renewed push for unity

Banerjee said the party would intensify its organisational and political programmes across districts, blocks and villages. She also announced separate initiatives aimed at students and young people but declined to reveal details, saying she did not want the programmes to be disrupted before they began.

Also read | Mamata Banerjee backs Abhishek, blames BJP for TMC defections

Reiterating her appeal for Opposition unity in recent months, Banerjee invited all political forces opposed to the BJP to join hands. “I appeal to every political force in Bengal that is opposed to the BJP. Come together, unite, and prepare for the democratic struggle ahead,” she said.

She reiterated that the TMC would continue working with the INDIA alliance while also attempting to bring together other “like-minded democratic forces”.

“We will continue to move forward with the INDIA alliance. Our objective is to build unity,” she said, adding that the TMC would support democratic protest movements even if they were organised by other opposition parties.

Attacking BJP with force

Throughout her nearly two-hour address, Banerjee accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies and the administration to intimidate Opposition leaders and workers.

She claimed around 40,000 cases had been filed against TMC workers and alleged that several former party leaders had switched sides under pressure from agencies such as the ED and the CBI.

Referring to alleged attempts to disrupt Tuesday’s rally, Banerjee alleged that BJP supporters had tried to prevent her from reaching the venue and that TMC workers had faced intimidation in several districts. At the same time, she urged supporters not to target the police, saying they were functioning under the government of the day.

Ending on a defiant note, Banerjee declared that neither political pressure nor legal action would force her to retreat.

“I will not give up. Even if I have to face death more than once, I will not surrender,” she said, urging workers to strengthen the party “from every booth, every block, every village and every district.”

Beyond Mamata’s political speech

The political significance of the day, however, extended beyond Banerjee’s speech.

Also read | Is Mamata’s ‘kill me to silence me’ message a comeback volley? | Capital Beat

For the first time in decades, Kolkata witnessed three separate Martyrs' Day commemorations. While the Congress sought to reconnect with the movement's origins by organising its own public programme after several years, the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction attempted to project itself as the “real” TMC by holding a parallel rally.

Congress leaders, however, maintained that acknowledging Banerjee's role in the 1993 agitation did not amount to endorsing her subsequent politics. “History cannot be denied. At the same time, Congress workers also faced political violence under Mamata's leadership,” Congress state president Subhankar Sarkar said.

The anniversary was observed a day after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari tabled the Justice Sushanta Chattopadhyay Commission report in the Assembly, accusing the previous TMC government of failing to deliver justice to the families of those killed in the 1993 police firing.