Every year on 21st
July Martyr's Day Rally (21se July Sahid Dibas) a mass rally being organized by
the All India Trinamool Congress in remembrance of 13 people shot dead by West
Bengal Police in Kolkata (with the instruction by the CPIM lead government)
during a rally by the West Bengal Youth Congress under Mamata Banerjee on 21
July 1993 while demanding Voter's Identity Card to be made sole required
document for voting.
Background
& what happened in 21st July 1993:
The 14-year-old communist government won a
massive mandate in 1991, but after Mamata Bandopadhyay became the president of youth wing of the opposition INC a new
wave of protests began against what many believed Scientific Rigging employed by the ruling party.
On October 1992, Mamata Banerjee, now Chief Minister held a massive rally at
the Brigade Parade Ground to symbolically toll the bell for ousting of the
Communist Government. To many this rejuvenated the opposition to Ruling
Communists after a long gap.
On December 1992, Banerjee took a physically challenged Girl Felani Basak, who was allegedly raped by CPI(M) cadres to
the Writers' Building to the then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu but was harassed and allegedly molested by
the police before being arrested and released from detention in midnight, this
attracted universal outrage.
Finally the youth wing of the party led by
Mamata Banerjee, decided to march to
Writers' Building to lodge appeals for Voter Photo-ID cards to be made
necessary for free and fair polling....
It was July 21, 1993. The day of Writers'
Abhijan organized by the Youth Congress. The demand was: voters' ID cards be
made the only required document for voting, to put a stop to CPM's "scientific rigging".
Thousands of Youth Congress supporters had
gathered at five different points of the city.
The
rally was a large yet peaceful one with attendance well over 100000. suddenly
trouble broke out as cadres from CPI(M) mingled in the crowd and started to
throw bricks at police then police began to Lathicharge attending people who
reacted by throwing brickbats at the police.
The Police started shooting from
their .303 Rifles without any warning and shot in peoples' head and torso in
trying to kill more protesters, 13 people died from the Bullet Wounds
sustained. The Decision to open fire was also widely criticized particularly as
most of those killed were shot in the back proving they have been murdered in
cold blood.
By that time, state Youth Congress president Mamata Banerjee had reached the Tea Board crossing,
accompanied by a few other leaders. She had climbed onto a traffic post in the
middle of the road, in an effort to control the crowd. The angry policemen
surrounded the traffic post and started a lathicharge.
The Youth Congress
leaders accompanying Mamata threw a protective ring around her. Some of them —
including Saugata Roy — were badly beaten up, Mamata Banerjee was also had a serious injury. It seems plan was to kill Mamata Banerjee.
The testimony came during
his deposition before the single- member judicial commission formed by the Mamata Banerjee- led
Trinamool Congress government to investigate the incident, which took place on
July 21, 1993. The commission seeks to determine on whose instruction the
police opened fire.
Main culprit Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, then the West Bengal Information and Cultural Affairs minister
in the Jyoti Basu led Cabinet, was also in charge of the city police at the time.
"At that time, in
principle, I did not feel the need for a judicial inquiry and I still stick to
my views,"Bhattacharjee said in his 50- minute deposition before the July 21 Commission
headed by former Orissa High Court Chief Justice Sushanto Chattopadhyay.
The rally in question was organized
by the then West Bengal Youth Congress president Mamata Banerjee
demanding that photo voter identity cards be made mandatory to ensure fair
elections.
When the demonstrators
reached Mayo Road and Dorina Crossing at Esplanade, about one kilometer away
from Writers' Buildings, they came under fire from the police.
Union Home Minister S. B. Chavan, who had
rushed to Calcutta after the incident, advised the state Government to order a
judicial probe into the incident. However, no probe was ordered by the Chief
Minister, Jyoti Basu, who supported the police actions saying they had "done a
good job" in preventing the alleged attempted siege of the Writers'
Building.
In his deposition, Bhattacharjee said the
protesters indulged in "large- scale violence" adding that as a
result" around 70 policemen sustained injuries". However, this claim
was questioned by Justice (Retired)
Chattopadhyay, who pointed out that
there was no record of any police personnel taking admission in hospitals to
seek treatment for the injuries Bhattacharjee
claimed were inflicted on them by the
protesters.
The entire episode of 21st
July incident gives us a clear view of certain untold truth:
1. Mamata Banerjee from the early days did take on the CPM head on which the
Congress Leaders at the center & state did not want. It was their vested
interest among them are some leaders who are at the Top. They never supported Mamata Banerjee. She
understood the truth that Congress has become the B Team of CPM.
2. The cry for Voter ID Card raised by Mamata Banerjee later
turned into a history making decision of Election process in India.
3. The then Left Govt stinked of arrogance when we read the
reporting of Budhadeb Bhattacharya. No wonder he later was an epitome of Arrogance. Now all his
arrogance has been smashed to the ground by the historic win of TMC and his one
garland photo shoot with Rahul
Gandhi. Hypocrisy does not have
any color caste or creed.
4. Left shouts about
Democracy – how hollow their shout is .. Just imagine when was the democracy
when files where lost which depicted all info about 13 lives lost on 21st July.
They should keep quiet and apologies to the family members of those bereaved .
5. Lastly Holy cow (?!?)
Congress, how low one can stop? How can you forget 13 lives lost, how you can
forget that rally it was done for your benefit and some criticized it later? We all know who those
culprits are – now they are on virtual retirement.
Written by Saroop Chattopadhyay with some inputs & help of Jayanta Sengupta.
http://mamatimanushofwb.blogspot.in/2016/07/2nd-innings-of-trinamool-congress.html
To know about latest Martyrs' day rally on 21-07-2016, please read following article:
2nd Innings
of Trinamool Congress Regime & the message is Don’t Mess with us ……. Kolkata
witnessed sea of humanity during grand Trinammol Congress rally on The Martyr’s
day (21se July) rally on 21st July 2016. Congress & CPIM breaks
as their MLAs& Councillorsjoin AITC. Mamata Banerjee spoke against
"saffron polarisation" in the country and the State using the
"politics of cow”. Mamata also condemned misuse of CBI & ED for
political purpose.
Please see other posts in this blog page by clicking "Home" or from "My Favorite Posts" / "Popular Posts" / "Archives" sections, and if any remarks please feel free to post. Thanks & Vande Mataram!! Saroop Chattopadhyay.
I quite like looking through an article that will make people think.
ReplyDeleteAlso, many thanks for allowing me to comment!