NEW DELHI: Kalyan Banerjee of the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday announced that it would move court after Kolkata Police rejected its application to hold the annual July 21 Martyrs’ Day (Shahid Diwas) rally.He told reporters that the faction was discussing an alternative venue instead of the usual Esplanade site but asserted that the programme date would remain unchanged.In addition to rejecting applications from both Trinamool factions, police have imposed a 60-day ban on gatherings across parts of central Kolkata, including the traditional venue of the then-undivided TMC’s annual Martyrs’ Day rally, citing intelligence inputs about possible violent demonstrations that could disrupt public order.The restrictions will come into effect on July 2 and remain in force till August 30 unless withdrawn earlier.“The application we submitted for July 21 has been rejected. We are deliberating on our next course of action and where to hold the meeting, but the date will remain unchanged. We will challenge this in court. It is undemocratic. Such actions are impermissible,” Banerjee said.“The current chief minister is afraid to listen to the opposition. He wants to shut down all democratic protests and rallies. But we will fight back — both in the political arena and in the courts,” he added, referring to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, a former Trinamool member.Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee faction had sought permission from the Kolkata Police Commissioner to organise the Shahid Diwas programme in front of Victoria House at Esplanade and requested approval for arrangements from July 19 to July 21, saying it wished to continue the longstanding tradition under the leadership of the former West Bengal chief minister, who founded the TMC in January 1998 after leaving the Congress.The undivided TMC had been observing Shahid Diwas in memory of the 13 Youth Congress workers who were killed after police opened fire on a Mamata Banerjee-led protest march under the state’s Left Front government on July 21, 1993, in Kolkata.This will be the first Martyrs’ Day since the Trinamool lost the assembly elections in April, ending its 15-year rule in West Bengal and triggering a split in the party.(With ANI inputs)
