Mamata stages Kolkata dharna, vows support for TMC workers amid post-poll violence row

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee staged a dharna in Kolkata protesting alleged attacks on party workers after recent elections. She accused the BJP of post-poll violence, announced plans for a nationwide opposition strategy and reiterated support for affected TMC cadres

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a dharna in central Kolkata to protest against alleged post-poll attacks on party workers and leaders following the BJP’s victory in recent assembly elections.

Banerjee asserted that she would not abandon TMC workers after the party’s defeat in the recent assembly polls. Addressing TMC supporters at her day-long dharna at Esplanade’s Y-channel, Banerjee said anti-BJP parties would soon formulate a country-wide opposition programme.

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“Very soon, all anti-BJP parties will meet in Delhi. Wait for a few days and we will soon announce our country-wide course of action,” the TMC chief said, referring to the scheduled INDIA bloc meeting next week.

Banerjee reached the dharna site after the TMC’s appeal to hold the protest at the adjacent Rani Rashmoni Road was turned down by the Kolkata Police.

“We were not given permission to set up a stage or use microphones,” Banerjee said, while addressing the crowd using a megaphone. The protest was marked by chaos, with TMC workers shouting slogans amid the former chief minister’s speech.

Banerjee was seen accompanied by the party’s old guards Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra, Derek O’Brien, Kalyan Banerjee and Dola Sen, amid the conspicuous absence of most of the fresh faces who won the assembly seats on TMC tickets.

The party supremo, however, asserted that the dharna, to protest Saturday’s attack on her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, alleged post-poll violence and hawker eviction, will continue till the evening as scheduled.