The Trinamool Congress on Monday did stage its promised statewide demonstrations demanding the resignation of Amit Shah as Union home minister over his contentious remarks deemed an insult to B.R. Ambedkar, but the response to the call for the protests by none other than Mamata Banerjee seemed tepidand inconspicuous.

Several Trinamool insiders admitted to a lack of enthusiasm among workers and active supporters, in the absence of proper mobilisation measures for the rallies that were supposed to take place in every block, every ward of the state between 2pm and 3pm. They said the inexplicable absence of even a statement from the chief minister to mark the occasion, or an adequate mainstream and social media campaign by the party further dampened spirits.

“Contrary to expectations, she (Mamata) did not attend a programme in the city. She also did not issue a video or textual statement, not even on social media. This was unusual and unexpected,” said a senior in the ruling party, going on to whisper concerns of Congress-CPM allegations of an “unholy entente” between Mamata and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“There have already been questions in the national Opposition space of how inappropriately standoffish we seemed in Delhi last week, in order to steer clear of Rahul Gandhi-led protest activities while carrying out some exercises of our own,”he added.

There were programmes but without the usual vigour of a Trinamool event.

Trinamool’s student wing organised protests in Calcutta. The party’s state general secretary Kunal Ghosh and its state president Subrata Bakshi led rallies in the city, both demanding Shah’s resignation for the alleged insult to Ambedkar, who was not only the principal architect of the Constitution but also remains a widely revered icon, especially among the Dalits and the Adivasis.

Protests were held in North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly, East and West Burdwan, and Purulia, among others. Demonstrators emphasised Ambedkar’s legacy and contribution to India’s democracy and accused the BJP of disrespecting the ideals enshrined inthe Constitution.

The BJP’s Bengal leadership dismissed the protests as politically motivated and an attempt to divert attention from local governance issues in Bengal.

Replying to the two-day discussion on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha on December 17, Shah said while slamming the Congress for repeatedly invoking Ambedkar: “Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai — Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete toh saat janmo tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to keep invoking Ambedkar. Had they taken god’s name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven forseven rebirths).”

The Congress — which has been at the forefront of fierce protests against this, led by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi — had latched onto this remark on Tuesday night itself, but other INDIA bloc parties, including Trinamool and its chairperson Mamata, joined in on Wednesday.