In what could be a dress rehearsal for an electoral alliance ahead of the crucial Assembly poll in Bengal, the Left Front and Congress leaders on Monday jointly hit the streets to protest the police a
In what could be a dress rehearsal for an electoral alliance ahead of the crucial Assembly poll in Bengal, the Left Front and Congress leaders on Monday jointly hit the streets to protest the police action in Jawarhlal Nehru University campus and the arrest of a student leader. Several important leaders including two former state Congress presidents, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP and senior leaders of CPI and Forward Bloc participated in a padayatra — “Kolkata Marches for JNU” — which started from College Street and culminated in Esplanade area. Significantly, there were no party flags in the rally which was organised by a non-political outfit Democratic Forum Against Suppression.
However, despite the absence of political banners, the rally clearly reflected the convergence of all anti-Trinamul Congress forces in the state. The Left-Congress camaraderie assumed even more significance because it came on the eve of CPI(M)’s politburo meeting which is being held in Delhi to discuss the alliance issue. The CPI(M) was represented by South 24 Parganas secretary Sujan Chakraborty and MP Ritubrata Banerjee, the Congress by Somen Mitra and Pradip Bhattacharya, Abdul Mannan, Omprakash Mishra and Arunava Ghosh.
The Forward Bloc’s Naren Chatterjee and CPI’s Manju Kumar Majumdar also walked in the padayatra raising slogans against the Modi government’s alleged attempt at muzzling the voices of the students of the JNU.
Young CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Mr Banerjee voiced his outrage against the Sangh Parivar’s attempt at branding political leaders expressing solidarity with the JNU students as anti-national.
“We do not need any lesson in patriotism from the RSS which was involved in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi,” he said. He claimed that the country was facing an undeclared Emergency under Narendra Modi’s rule.
Congress leader and eminent lawyer Mr Ghosh flayed the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar under Section 124 A of the IPC ( for sedition ). “What else can we expect when both the Prime Minister and home minister of India do not have any knowledge of law ” he asked.
CPI(M) leader Mr Chakraborty said the march was aimed at showing solidarity with the JNU students who he alleged were being targeted by an “autocratic” government. Leaders of the Congress and Left Front zealously displayed their bonhomie. When asked if their coming together was a precursor of an electoral alliance, Mr Mitra, Mr Banerjee and Mr Majumdar said in one voice: “It is the people’s alliance against oppression and injustice.”
The rally which was organised against the Centre, turned into an occasion for Mamata-bashing. “Now Modi-Didi tacit understanding has become crystal clear. Why else is Mamata Banerjee silent over the JNU incident ” the Congress leader asked.
