Mamata to join CJP’s Delhi protest on Monday
In a sudden development, former Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday declared her open support for the protesters of Cockroach Janata Party and offered to join the movement at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday.
“Our leader will visit the protest site to express her solidarity with the students protesting against NEET exam paper leaks,” a senior leader and a former party MP said, adding, “this is not a knee-jerk decision… this was already announced by Didi on July 21.” The TMC leader would not, however, speak on whether Banerjee would make a token presence or actively participate in the protest.
Already our senior MPs, including Mohua Moitra and Saket Gokhale, had visited Janatar Mantar and expressed solidarity with the CJP protesters, he said adding “our leader has said that the time has come when the masks of this Government should be pulled down.” He, however, said that all depended upon the outcome of Saturday’s dialogues proposed between the CJP and the Centre.
The BJP was quick to respond with Bengal Health Minister Shardwat Mukherjee calling Banerjee’s decision a “deplorable” stand.
“After facing a complete rejection from the people in the elections, Mamata Banerjee is trying to fish in the troubled waters … she and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are opportunist politicians and trying to catch at any straw to stay afloat after not only being deserted by her own party men but also being rejected by other opposition parties whom she approached for friendship,” Mukherjee said.
Meanwhile, tension ran high in the Esplanade area of busy central Kolkata as the city on Friday witnessed a massive mobilisation of students mostly from the Left-wing parties who, along with the supporters of Cockroach Janata Party, marched from Sealdah to Dharmatala as part of an all-India student protest call given by the CJP leadership from Jantar Mantar.
Protesters in Kolkata also called for a night-long “Rat Jago, Desh Jago” (Stay Awake, Wake Up the Country) sit-in a la the one that was organised during the RG Kar Medical College doctor’s rape and murder protest.
There were reports of skirmishes between the police and the protesters, with an exchange of A mild lathi charge against hurling of water bottles from the agitators.
DYFI leader Saptarshi Deb said that they would do nothing to annoy the administration and would “sit peacefully without breaking the law… now it is up to the police to break the law if they want to… we will sit through the night appealing to the countrymen to remain awake against the anti-people, anti-student war declared by the BJP Government.
Elsewhere, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari hit out at the Left student leadership, warning them against forcefully mobilising students to disturb peace.
He had reports on how the students in the hostels were being threatened to join the rallies, he said. “I, as the Chief Minister, am gathering information and will do the needful to weed out all the anti-national force… in the coming days… just wait and see what I do,” he said.
