Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee today addressed students at Dharmatala in Kolkata on the occasion of the foundation day of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), the students’ wing of Trinamool Congress.
She gave a rousing speech, asking the students to break down all the walls that are trying to crush your dreams. She asked them to never bow their head to the atrocities and fear tactics of the BJP.
Mamata Banerjee also announced a two-day-long interactive session with students leaders of the TMCP from across all the districts on November 14 and 15. Through the interactive sessions, she said, she would select the next level leadership of the party.
Highlights of her speech:
Bangla is the land of the strong, the land of culture,the land of history. Bangla will show the way to the future
We never bow our heads in defeat, we never give up
Some people are trying to scare us, people who are new in the political field. They don’t know what fighting political fights really means. It is we who have fought our way to reach where we are today
Trinamool Congress has achieved what it has after a lot of struggle
The BJP has bought off the country. On the one hand, they have taken over all the media channels, all the newspapers. That’s why there is only the BJP’s news that you read about and only their leaders that you see
And on the other hand, they are continuously sending advisories to us. The word ‘advisory’ has become their favourite word
People in the country cannot speak up anymore. The duty of students is to speak up, to protest against the wrongs
Partha Chatterjee will tell you when the student union elections will be held
The BJP is using religion to create an atmosphere of fear and hate in the country
Look at the country’s state of economy. The government has brought together a group of retired people – bureaucrats and others – and it is they who have advised the RBI to give away its emergency reserves to the Centre. This is deplorable
Also look at Kashmir. They have shut off the media. They have shut everybody off using the power of the gun
The CPI(M) had come out on the streets of Kolkata once protesting against the war in Vietnam, shouting the slogan, ‘Amar naam tomar naam Vietnam’. And now they have come together with the BJP. They are scared of the BJP
The BJP is scaring our ministers, other ex-ministers and politicians using Central agencies
They are asking the Election Commission (EC) to send letters to political parties saying there is discrepancy in the latter’s accounts
The country is moving towards a presidential form of government – one election, one party, one emergency. There is an emergency situation
Our freedom fighters fought against British for their atrocities. Now the time has come to fight once again.
The BJP is indulging in horse trading; they are buying off politicians
The BJP is after Bangla because we are putting up resistance against them. I am ready to go to jail but will not give in to the BJP’s demands
There is a tough fight going on, and more is to come. I exhort you all, the students, to fight for two more years, and then Bangla will fight for you for the next 50 years
Regarding Kashmir, we never said that you cannot take a decision, but should have taken it after consultation with everybody. You have forced the decision on Kashmir on everyone.
You learnt about Goddess Durga from us, and now you are using the issue of worshipping Durga against us. We worship all gods and goddesses. You worship the evil Ravana
You try to decide who will eat what and who will wear what
IAS officers are leaving their jobs because of the way the BJP is running the country
After independence, Mahatma Gandhi sat in protest in Beleghata. Vidyasagar, who fought for the remarriage of widows and who wrote books to teach us our language, was from Bangla
This year is Mahatma Gandhi’150th birth anniversary, Vidyasagar’s 200th birth anniversary and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’s 100th anniversary
I will request Partha Chatterjee to organise celebrations of these anniversaries in colleges across the State
We should never forget history. The BJP is trying to change history
Our forebears fought for freedom. The people who ultimately went on to form the BJP and who influenced many to join the latter, on the other hand, supported the British, and not the freedom fighters
On Nov 14 and 15, we will organise interactive sessions with all the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad units from all colleges and universities, interactive sessions with college and university teachers too
Student leaders of the future will come out of those sessions. I will select people who have the potential to stand up strongly to the BJP. I will create the next level of leadership from among those students across the districts
I want people who will wholeheartedly work with me. I want a list of such people, and I will work with them
The leadership I will create will scare the BJP, with their evil intentions, to keep away from Bangla for the next 50 years
From 12 universities in 2011 we have set up 38 universities. We have set up 50 colleges. We give scholarships to all female students through the Kanyashree Scheme and to everyone else through the Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme. Through the Sikshashree Scheme, we give scholarships to students belonging to SC and ST communities
Unemployment in the country is at a 45-year high, while we in Bangla have decreased unemployment by 40 per cent
We still give pension to State Government employees, something which others have stopped giving; and this despite the huge debt we have
For the last 13 days, we are leading a hunger strike against the Centre’s decision to divest from 42 PSUs, which will lead to large-scale employment. I request all of you to go meet the protesters after this rally gets over to give them encouragement and the strength to carry on with their struggle
We are beside all workers of all PSUs, here and elsewhere
The BJP Government does not even want us to change the name of our State. They can’t tolerate even the name of our State. Actually they can’t tolerate our intelligence, our ability to stand up against their atrocities
They are trying to crush our bones, crush our strengths. But they won’t succeed
This is political vendetta. The BJP is demanding cut money in exchange for giving houses through their schemes
You are concerned about the prices of diamonds, and not potatoes because you are not concerned about the poor of the country,
Where did you get so much money that you spent during the general elections?
The Centre spent so much money on the election yet is not able to give rations for the poor
I will create a core group for organising the November 14 and 15 interactions..
You should be proud of Bangla. Always remember, this is the land of your dreams, the land of your purposes
Break down all the walls that are trying to crush your dreams. Sing the song of life, sing the song of victory
