Krishnanagar, Dec. 9: A day after her expulsion, Trinamul Congress leadership on Saturday has come up to use the people of Krishnanagar to build a strategic movement against the expulsion of party MP Mahua Moitra as a part of a larger strategy against the BJP ahead of the next year’s Lok Sabha election.
While the party has planned to take the issue across the state soon in the coming days, the movement was launched in Krishnanagar – Moitra’s parliamentary constituency in Nadia district, where several protest rallies were organized on the day as the party supporters and leaders leaving all their prejudices and rivalries joined hands to walk together on the street to take the issue to the people, even though a major section of the party does not like her.
“It is not just an issue related to the people of Krishnanagar who elected Mahua Moitra. Rather it is an issue against injustice and arbitrary rule which the BJP has implemented in the country”, said Trinamul’s Chapra MLA Rukbanur Rahaman. Chapra assembly segment is a party of Moitra’s constituency, which provided her a lead of about 49000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On Saturday around three thousand party supporters walked from Shrinagar to Murgihata to condemn the expulsion.
Speaking to The NfN, Rahaman said, “With the expulsion of Moitra, the BJP government has blatantly ignored the people’s verdict that sent her to the Lok Sabha. It is sheer cheating with public opinion that was against BJP. We will take this issue to people and the movement will not remain centred within the geographic boundary of Krishnanagar constituency, but rather across the state”.
On Friday Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed Moitra’s expulsion as, “Democracy was murdered”. She also made it clear to take the issue of expulsion as a part of the strategy as categorically call for a “political fight” against the BJP. Speaking to the reporters in Kurseong she said, “Politically we will fight, People will fight and people will give justice”.
“They defrauded the people…If you are indeed that powerful, you could have defeated her in a fair poll contest. Instead of that with just two-three months remaining, what happened that you had to throw out a young woman MP?” she also stated.
Acknowledging that protest against Mahua Moitra is part of a larger strategy of the party, a senior Trinamul leader in Kolkata said, “It is a big issue BJP has offered us. Detailed plans to initiate the movement in all the districts will be shared soon. But the focus would remain on Krishnanagar as it is going to be a challenge to retain the seat”.
On Saturday, Trinamul’s leadership in Nadia vowed to take the fight to the people. Several protest rallies were organized across the district. However, major protest rallies were organized in Krishnanagar town, Chapra, Bhimpur, Bethuadahari, Tehatta, and Karimpur, which are part of Moitra’s Lok Sabha constituency.
Karimpur, from where she began her journey with Trinamul Congress winning the assembly bye-election in 2016, was first to react by organizing a protest rally on Friday evening. (The Karimpur assembly segment is not within Moitra’s parliamentary constituency, but under her control being the president of the party’s Nadia South organizing committee.)
On Saturday the largest rally was organized in Chapra. “A battle has begun today. All of us swear to get
Mahuadi back in the parliament. We have vowed to ensure her a lead with a bigger margin than last Lok Sabha poll”, Sukdeb Brahma, Trinamul’s Chapra block president said.
However, amid the anger over the expulsion, which has otherwise created an enthusiasm to rejuvenate the party that is torn with factionalism, the top leadership remained speculative about the role of a major section of the district leaders who do not like Mahua Moitra.
Several complaints were lodged against Moitra with party leadership about her “ways of function”, “disrespectful attitude” and “highhandedness”. One of such leaders Nakashipara MLA Kallol Khan, however, said, “Her expulsion unfortunate and quite unacceptable”.
The BJP leadership, however, termed the Trinamul’s protest for Mahua a “show”. Party’s farmers’ wing’s state committee President Mahadeb Sarkar said, “Forget the result of 2019. Mahua will taste the defeat this time. People are disillusioned about her and Trinamul will defeat her if she is nominated again from Krishnanagar.