Rebel Trinamool Congress faction attacks Mamata, Abhishek during parallel Martyr’s Day rally

Both Mamata Banerjee and the rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) seized the opportunity of the Martyrs' Day rally on Tuesday (July 21) to send the message that they were the real face of the 'Jora Phool' symbol. After being denied police permission to hold its rally outside Victoria House, the Ritabrata faction held its rally at Mayo Road, while the Mamata faction held its rally about one kilometre away at Cathedral Road.

On July 21, 1993, 13 Youth Congress workers died in police firing. Since then, Martyrs' Day has continued to be observed even after Mamata founded the TMC in 1998. Mamata was then the Youth Congress leader.

The audience at Ritabrata's TMC rally was not as large as that at Mamata's, which was a boost for the party founder. The rebel faction, however, did not let the dismal turnout dampen its spirits, as the stage was set with leaders who had switched camps, including Sandipan Saha, Madan Mitra, Debashish Kumar, Firhad Hakim and Chandrima Bhattacharya.

"We will observe Shahid Diwas the way it is supposed to be observed. It is not a platform for a reality show; it is not a platform to parachute celebrities or do a catwalk in which the political leaders and martyrs' families are relegated to the backdrop. Sadly, this is how Shahid Diwas has been observed all this while," said Ritabrata Banerjee.

The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly also spoke about the Sushanta Chatterjee Commission report on the July 21 incident, saying that it raised many questions. "Apart from the former chief minister, others gave their testimony," said Ritabrata. "Those who gave their testimonies, after which the investigating agencies gave their report, saw it go into cold storage," added the LoP, calling it wilful suppression to protect some people.

The commission had said that ₹25 lakh should be provided to the martyrs' families, while the injured should get ₹5 lakh. "What happened in reality was that₹2 lakh was given to the martyrs' families and ₹15,000 was given to the injured. Why is this playing to the gallery happening?" asked Ritabrata, adding that suppressing the report defeated the purpose of the investigation, and demanded to know why former chief minister had not made the probe report public.

A day earlier, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had spoken about the July 21, 1993, firing, saying there was no need to fire bullets to control the crowd at the state secretariat, Writers' Building. The CM was reading out the Sushanta Chatterjee Commission report, which was set up during Mamata's regime as CM. The report, filed in December 2024, called the apprehension of an attack imaginary and described the incident as worse than the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

"We have come to pay homage to the martyrs," added Ritabrata while reading out the names of the martyrs.

Ten members of the rebel faction of the TMC had approached the Election Commission (EC), stating that a national working committee meeting was held during which Arup Rai was declared the chairperson of the TMC faction. "We have faith in the Election Commission. We are hopeful that the Trinamool Congress' name, its symbol and whatever belongs to the Trinamool Congress will remain with the Trinamool Congress under Arup Rai's leadership," he said.

Ritabrata declared that if money from the TMC's accounts is granted to the rebel faction, ₹ 10,000 would be transferred every month to the accounts of the martyrs' families from the All India Trinamool Congress' account. "This money should be used for them."

Rebel MLA Madan Mitra brought up Mamata's name during his speech, stating that without Mamata, the party would not have its image. "It is not Abhishek who made you a celebrity; it was thousands of Trinamool Youth Congress leaders who made you a celebrity," said Mitra while also hitting out at Abhishek Banerjee.

Referring to Mamata, Mitra indicated that the rebel faction would accept her with open arms. "Come walking to us, we will put our uttariya (shawl, as a mark of respect) at your feet."

"Just accept that it is your fault, like Gandhari (in the Mahabharata), that you were blind. No one will throw eggs at you," said the Kamarhati MLA while questioning whether Mamata had thought about her party.

"We are giving you one month's time. Leave Abhishek's hand. Hold the hand of Trinamool Congress workers. It is your party, it is not Abhishek's party," said Mitra, who has been a close aide of Mamata and has stood by her through the years.

The rebel faction has a common dislike for Abhishek, accusing him of the party's downfall over the years. Ritabrata had said initially that they wanted Mamata as their advisor only, not their supremo. Mitra's allegiance to Mamata, however, is apparent, although it contrasts with Ritabrata's attack on Mamata on the same stage.