Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday repeated her unconditional support for farmers, lauded their agitation against the farm laws and declared she had “dedicated” the day to their cause, in a marked departure from her anti-bandh stand.
Speaking at a state government event in Raniganj, West Burdwan, she said: “We supported this strike as a party, in a shift from our longstanding position on strikes. For only one reason… the issues now we agree wholeheartedly with. Jai kisaan, jai mazdoor (Hail the farmer, hail the worker).”
She added they dedicated the day to “our farmers, my beloved brothers and sisters across India, currently agitating to save their livelihood and lives”. “They (the farmers) had called a strike till 3pm. To honour that, I started this programme after that time. I found out about the strike only a couple of days ago, by which time this programme was already fixed,” Mamata added.
Speaking in Bengali, Mamata often switched to Hindi, in a clear indication of wanting to reach out to a wider, national audience. Though the Trinamul Congress chief had been avowedly anti-bandh since 2009, she openly endorsed this one.
Mamata, now almost fully in campaign mode ahead of the crucial Bengal polls, underscored her empathy for farmers, reminding the audience of her anti-land acquisition movements in Singur and Nandigram, which propelled her to power in 2011.
She said her party had launched sit-in demonstrations against the farm laws in every block of the state and rallies would be held in every civic ward. The three-day sit-in demonstration that started on Tuesday by her party’s farm wing, in front of the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road in Calcutta, would end with an address by her on Thursday. “After that, I will announce more and more programmes on this,” she said.
At Raniganj, she also brought up other issues such as privatisation or sale of PSUs by the Centre, the alleged divisive nature of BJP’s politics, the “misuse of money” to win elections, the throttling of dissent. “For as long as we are alive, we will keep fighting for the people,” she asserted.
Last week, she sent a delegation to the Singhu border and spoke over the phone to multiple groups of protesting farmers, lauding their movement. She also has been in regular touch with the Shiromani Akali Dal, one of the oldest NDA allies which withdrew support over the laws.
Her party had also passively supported the 24-hour strike called by central trade unions on November 26 against Modi government’s policies.
CPM veteran and Siliguri MLA Asok Bhattacharya chose a different pitch to express solidarity with farmers during the nationwide general strike against farm laws on Tuesday. He played “street cricket” on Hill Cart Road.
“Hartal Maney Cricket (strike means cricket)” the senior CPM leader posted on social media with some photographs. The veteran’s pictures, however, drew online flak for their alleged frivolity. Bhattacharya, when told that his posts had not gone down well with many, said he simply wanted to give a message that the nationwide bandh called by farmers, to which the Left had extended support, was successful in Siliguri.
“The strike turned deserted streets into a perfect 22-yard for good batting practice. I just wanted to send a message that the strike was a success and so played cricket on Hill Cart Road,” he said.
Report by Bireswar Banerjee, picture by Passang Yolmo
