The Kolkata Police have denied permission to both rival factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to hold their July 21 "Martyrs' Day" rally at the traditional venue in front of Victoria House in Esplanade, bringing an end to a dispute over the iconic protest site.
According to Lalbazar, no political programme will be allowed to block roads at the busy Esplanade intersection. Both the Kalighat-led TMC faction and the group led by Ritabrata Banerjee had separately sought permission to organise the annual observance at the same location.
The police decision comes a day after a case was registered against TMC leaders Kunal Ghosh and Dola Sen for allegedly measuring the rally site with tape in front of Victoria House, an exercise police claimed disrupted traffic.
The controversy had also reached the Assembly, where Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari criticised the move.
"They have gone there with measuring tapes! I will tell them where they can hold the meeting," the Chief Minister remarked, adding sarcastically, "Your rally will draw lakhs of people. Go to Brigade Parade Ground. You have held it there before."
Soon after those remarks, Kolkata Police informed both factions that the traditional Esplanade venue would not be available for this year's programme.
Reacting to the development, former Rajya Sabha MP Shubhashis Chakraborty of the Kalighat faction told Anandabazar Patrika, "We have not yet received any official communication from the police. Therefore, we will not comment on the matter at this moment."
Akhruzzaman, MLA from Raghunathganj and chief whip of the Ritabrata faction, said his group would go ahead with the observance regardless of the venue.
"We will certainly observe Martyrs' Day. It will never be done in a way that causes inconvenience to the public. We will sit together, discuss the programme and then take the next decision," he told Anandabazar Patrika.
The dispute comes amid an organisational split within the TMC, raising questions over whether the annual July 21 programme would be held this year. The uncertainty appeared to ease last week after Mamata Banerjee directed party workers to gather at the traditional venue.
Addressing party workers through a speech played on loudspeakers at a programme organised by Kunal Ghosh in north Kolkata, Banerjee had expressed confidence that permission would be granted.
"I hope we will get permission for July 21. We hold only one meeting that day. I will speak in detail then. Even if only five workers are present, I will attend that meeting. All of you should assemble that day," she said.
Within days, both the Kalighat faction and the rival Ritabrata-led group submitted separate applications to Kolkata Police, each claiming to be the "real" Trinamool Congress and seeking permission to hold the programme in front of Victoria House.
