Congress announces July 21 rally in Kolkata after TMC's poll defeat, invites ex-leaders to rejoin party

Kolkata: The Congress' West Bengal unit on Saturday said that it would hold a public programme at Shahid Minar on July 21 this year, reclaiming the annual 'Martyrs' Day' observance long associated with the Trinamool Congress.

State Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar made the announcement at the party's Bidhan Bhavan office, saying the Congress would organise the programme in the heart of Kolkata after nearly three decades.

The move comes against the backdrop of the Trinamool Congress' rout in the Assembly polls and the ensuing turbulence it faces within its ranks.

The day traces its origins to July 21, 1993, when 13 Youth Congress workers were killed in police firing during a rally led by Mamata Banerjee at Esplanade during the Left Front regime. The Congress had declared the day as Martyrs' Day in memory of those killed.

After Mamata Banerjee disassociated from the Congress and formed the Trinamool Congress in the late 1990s, her party gradually took over the annual observance, holding massive rallies at Dharmatala every year.

Congress leaders alleged that over the years, the Trinamool had effectively "hijacked" the programme and prevented the Congress from publicly observing the day.

"For years, we were not allowed administrative permission to organise the programme publicly. We had to observe Martyrs' Day inside Bidhan Bhavan under temporary sheds," a senior Congress leader said.

With the TMC now facing organisational turmoil after its electoral defeat, the Congress leadership sought to position itself as a political alternative and simultaneously appealed to its former leaders to return to its fold.

Sarkar and party observer Ghulam Ahmad Mir issued an open invitation to leaders with Congress roots.

"Those who believe in the ideology of the Congress, those whose political upbringing happened in the Congress, the doors of the Congress are open for all of them. They will be welcomed wholeheartedly," Sarkar said.

Addressing party workers, Mir said, "We appeal to all old Congressmen to return to the party. Those who were born politically in the Congress, nurtured by the Congress, but later went to other parties because of circumstances, pressure, resentment or personal compulsions, should come back." "This is a golden opportunity. Congress will not step back from the fight. The doors are open for everyone. The fight against the BJP now is like the freedom movement," he added.