Final Up to date:July 20, 2025, 18:49 IST
Talking to the media on Sunday night, Mamata Banerjee mentioned: “There is constant oppression of Bengalis for speaking their language. We will not tolerate this oppression.”
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee with nationwide normal secretary Abhishek Banerjee. (PTI File)
The Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Martyrs’ Day rally on July 21, the final such rally earlier than the 2026 West Bengal elections, might be essential for a lot of causes. The message given by occasion supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and nationwide normal secretary Abhishek Banerjee are more likely to set the tone for the occasion’s technique.
Talking to the media on Sunday night, Banerjee mentioned: “There is constant oppression of Bengalis for speaking their language. We will not tolerate this oppression.”
“I thank all of you, including the administration and the media. Many of my colleagues have come here from distant places and are staying at the camp, I thank them for their dedication. More than a lakh people have already arrived. Due to the release of water and heavy rainfall, many areas are waterlogged. Yet, despite these challenges, people have come here to pay their respects to the martyrs,” the TMC chief mentioned.
“During the CPI(M) era, they didn’t allow people to vote. Buildings were locked to prevent voting. We launched a massive movement, and despite all their efforts, the CPI(M) couldn’t stop it. They opened fire and 13 people were killed and over 200 injured. Our demand was simple: no ID card, no vote. Now, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doesn’t allow people to vote in double-engine states,” she mentioned.
Martyrs’ Day is TMC’s annual mega rally commemorating the 1993 incident when 13 employees have been killed in police firing throughout Banerjee’s motion for EPIC playing cards. Since then, the TMC has noticed this present day to recollect the martyrs, and Banerjee historically makes use of this platform to announce the occasion’s political agenda for the yr.
Insiders say that this yr, Banerjee is anticipated to stipulate the roadmap for the 2026 elections whereas addressing 1000’s of occasion employees from the stage.
In the meantime, the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) has deliberate a gherao of the North Bengal Secretariat to protest in opposition to what it calls the “worsening law and order situation in the state”. That is additionally the primary time the court docket has imposed restrictions on the rally, following a petition citing potential visitors disruptions.
What’s going to Mamata Banerjee communicate on?
Bengali delight and alleged atrocities in BJP-ruled states: For the previous month, the TMC has been aggressively elevating the problem of ‘Bengali Asmita’ (Bengali delight). Banerjee has accused the BJP of being anti-Bengali, usually citing incidents from Odisha. On July 16, she led a protest march, alleging that the central authorities had issued a secret notification to expel Bengali individuals from different states. She has vowed to problem this notification in court docket. The TMC has additionally highlighted tales from Assam, the place voters are allegedly being summoned for NRC verification and shedding their citizenship rights. Insiders consider Banerjee will use the July 21 stage to direct her employees to launch an even bigger motion, projecting the BJP as a celebration that doesn’t respect Bengal’s tradition and traditions. The message might be clear: individuals shouldn’t place their religion within the BJP within the upcoming elections. It is usually anticipated that Banerjee will use this stage to straight reply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest remarks.
Particular Intensive Revision (SIR): On the eve of the rally, the TMC launched a video portraying the BJP as anti-Bengali and accused it of utilizing the Election Fee for political positive aspects. Banerjee has opposed the SIR course of from the day it was introduced, alleging that the BJP used related ways in Maharashtra and Delhi to incorporate bogus voters from exterior to control election outcomes. She is anticipated to reiterate this allegation, warning that the BJP is making an attempt to duplicate this technique in Bihar and Bengal as effectively. Insiders consider Mamata will give a clarion name for a mass motion on this concern. Whereas the BJP argues that revision is important as a result of Banerjee has allegedly allowed Rohingya migrants into Bengal, altering the state’s demography, the CM maintains that that is merely a BJP tactic to misuse the Election Fee to win elections.
Pointers to counter polarisation: The latest violence in Murshidabad and different incidents of communal rigidity have fuelled polarisation within the state. The BJP has alleged that Hindus will not be secure underneath the TMC rule. Insiders consider Banerjee will use the stage to instruct occasion employees on the way to counter this polarisation technique and retaliate successfully.
Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam assault: Though the TMC has supported the central authorities’s selections on coping with Pakistan and even despatched Abhishek as a part of a world delegation, the occasion has raised a number of questions on the problem. Insiders consider Banerjee could assault the BJP authorities over intelligence failures associated to latest incidents such because the Pahalgam assault.
Girls’s points, from RG Kar to Kasba rape allegations: Regardless of being a girl Chief Minister and regardless of schemes like Lakshmir Bhandar which have earned the occasion important help amongst girls voters, the TMC has confronted embarrassment over incidents just like the RG Kar case and the Kasba rape allegations. In Kasba, stories involving former leaders of the occasion’s pupil wing have tarnished the TMC’s picture. Celebration leaders consider Banerjee will use the stage to present a robust message to the youth and should concern strict instructions relating to occasion self-discipline.
Factionalism inside TMC: Factional fights are frequent within the TMC, however insiders anticipate Banerjee to ship a transparent message that such infighting shouldn’t hurt the occasion’s prospects, particularly forward of essential elections.
BJP’s counter-strategy
Whereas the BJP has deliberate a North Bengal Secretariat gherao, its state president might be in Delhi to attend the Parliament session. The BJP has mentioned on report that this might be Banerjee’s final Martyrs’ Day rally in energy.
Nonetheless, there isn’t a doubt that each one eyes will stay on Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee’s addresses from the July 21 stage.
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Information politics ‘Bengalis Facing Oppression’: Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek To Give 2026 Roadmap At TMC Rally Tomorrow
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