The Congress’ students’ wing, Chhatra Parishad (known elsewhere in the country as NSUI), hit the streets on Saturday to condemn Anis Khan's murder, almost a week since protests mostly by the Left, mainstream and otherwise, have been visible on the streets of Calcutta and other parts of the state.

The Chhatra Parishad known elsewhere as the NSUI carrying out a separate protest is a bid by the parent Congress party to stay relevant in Bengal, as like the Left, it is without any legislator and the few MPs that the party still has are on extremely shaky wicket, pushed by the Trinamul-BJP binary.

The street protest came close on the heels of tm veteran Congressman Abdul Mannan’s missive to the Congress working president Sonia Gandhi, a couple of days ago. Mannan is still awaiting response from his “madam”.

The former leader of the Opposition has requested Sonia Gandhi to send Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, currently busy with the high-stakes UP election to Bengal, to “rejuvenate the party’s sagging morale”, like they have been visiting other parts of the country on any major issue. Despite the uproar in Bengal over Anis Khan’s murder (who was once a Chhatra Parishad member), national leaders have largely ignored the case.

Mannan’s argument is on two major issues in Bengal, one involving tribals and the other centred around minorities, that have put both the ruling Trinamul and the main Opposition BJP on the backfoot. He believes these two isssues provide an opening for the Congress to set its foot in.

Chhatra Parishad members sit on a dharna on Saturday The Telegraph Picture

The first is the controversy surrounding leasing of mines in Birbhum’s Deucha Pachami and the other is the Anis Khan murder case. Mannan says the BJP and the Trinamul are both on the same page on the two issues.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been actively wooing industrialist Gautam Adani for the mining project, whose proximity to the ruling BJP at the Centre is well-known. The Trinamul government is also on the backfoot over the murder of the 28-year-old Muslim student-activist. With the BJP’s pronounced anti-minority stance, both the Congress and the Left sense an opportunity to win over the largest minority community, which has steadily moved towards the Trinamul for the last 14 years.

Sadly, for the Congress that is not what Delhi sees. “We are with the Congress despite its sagging fortunes and dwindling public support. What do we have to take on the might of the Trinamul and the BJP? Most of the time we end up paying from our own pocket,” says a central Calcutta Congress leader.

Take the Chhatra Parishad, for instance. To mobilise supporters, ferrying them to protest events or even to reach out to victims in places distant from Calcutta requires money.

“When we ask the PCC we are told there are no funds. The Chhatra Parishad does not even have a single vehicle for its use,” said a Chhatra Parishad leader. “When Somen Mitra was the president of the state unit, he had the means to organise funds and transport for party programmes. Now, there is no one we can talk to.” The youth wing of the party has a similar story to tell.

“If our central leaders do not take us seriously, how do we expect the people of Bengal to do so?” asked a youth wing leader from Metiabruj.