Min Agnimitra Paul dares TMC to hold July 21 rally at Brigade Parade Ground

Asansol (WB): West Bengal's Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul on Sunday challenged the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC to hold its July 21 rally at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground instead of Esplanade, saying it would be the true test of the party's organisational strength. Her remarks came amid the TMC's legal battle to secure permission to hold its annual 'Martyrs' Day' programme at Esplanade after Kolkata Police denied the venue, stating that it would disrupt traffic at the busy intersection in the heart of the city. "Whether they celebrate July 21 in 10 places or 100 places is not our concern, but the general public should not face any inconvenience," Paul told reporters in Asansol. "If they want to celebrate it, they should do so at the Brigade Parade Ground. Even Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has mentioned this. We also want to see how much strength you actually have," she said. The minister also accused the TMC of appropriating the July 21 commemoration from the Congress. "If Mamata Banerjee truly wants to observe the July 21 Martyrs' Day, she should release the Commission of Inquiry report. Instead of punishing those who fired the bullets and killed people back then, she has made them ministers," Paul alleged. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC recently moved the Calcutta High Court seeking permission to hold its annual 'Martyrs' Day' rally at Esplanade, where it has been traditionally held over the years. The rebel TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee has secured police permission to hold its own 'Martyrs' Day' programme near the Gandhi statue near Esplanade. The TMC on July 21 observes the anniversary of the 1993 alleged police firing on a rally led by Mamata Banerjee, in which 13 Youth Congress workers were killed. The 'Martyr's Day' rally, held in front of Victoria House in Esplanade, has over the years turned into a show of strength for the TMC, with lakhs of party workers from across the state turning up.