TO COUNTER BJP, MAMATA TO GO ON NATIONWIDE TOUR
KOLKATA: With an aim to make Trinamool Congress’s proposed anti- BJP rally at Brigade Prade ground in Kolkata on January 19, 2019 a major success, party supremo and West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee will make a nationwide tour during November and December this year that is immediately after the festive season of Durga Puja and Diwali is over.
KOLKATA: With the aim to make Trinamool Congress’s proposed anti- Bharatiya Janata Party rally at Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata on January 19, 2019 a major success, party supremo and West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, will make a nationwide tour during November and December this year.
Besides the national capital of Delhi, she will also be going to other state capitals and interact with the top leaders of different anti-BJP regional forces.
“She will personally invite and persuade them to be present at the Kolkata rally. She has also prepared a list of leaders whom she would like to meet personally. Her priorities in the list are former Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader, Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party leader, Kumari Mayawati and Telangana chief minister, K Chandrashekar Rao,” said a senior cabinet member of West Bengal, who did not wish to be named.
On Saturday, at the 25th year of Trinamool martyr’s day rally, Mamata Banerjee announced January 19 as the date for the anti- BJP rally at Kolkata. She also announced that she will invite top Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi to be present at the rally. BJP has called a counterrally at the same venue on January 23, where Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will be the principal speaker.
“The clear instructions from the chief minister are to start preparations immediately after the festive season [of Durga Puja and Diwali] to make the antiBJP rally a grand success. We will work according to her instructions and we are sure that majority of anti- BJP forces in the country and even leaders from some current NDA allies will accept her invitation and make their presence felt at the January 19 rally,” said state transport minister, Suvendu Adhikari.
It is learnt that chief minister’s nephew and Trinamool Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, will be accompanying her during her meetings with the top leaders of different anti- BJP political forces. A member of state cabinet who preferred to remain anonymous said that although initially the CM also decided to invite CPI(M) leaders but this might not happen since top CPI(M) leaders including , Sitaram Yechury has ruled out the possibility .
While Mamata will be busy interacting with political leaders, state education minister, Partha Chatterjee and the party’s general secretary, Subrata Bakshi will make extensive tours to identify organisational loopholes and taking corrective measures in Bengal. Also, state panchayat and rural development minister, Subrata Mukherjee, will make extensive tours within the state to monitor the pending rural development projects and ensure their timely completion.
“On Saturday, chief minister has clearly said that in 2019 Trinamool will win in all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our duty to fulfil her wish and work according to her instructions,” Chatterjee said. “Development is the slogan of Trinamool and we’ll not compromise on the development issue at any cost,” he said.