January 30, 2014
Historic turnout at Trinamool`s Martyrs` Day rally at Brigade
The historic Martyrs` Day rally at Brigade parade ground broke all records. Bengal has never seen such a turnout in its political history. 25 lakhs? 30 lakhs? Perhaps more. Every inch of the vast brigade parade ground was full, bursting at the seams. All one could see, was a sea of black heads. And even as the party Chiarperson rose to speak, a large number of people waited outside the rally ground, watching her address the gathering, on giant screens.
Every leader of the Trinamool Congress were present on the occasion, along with representatives from Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Tripura, Punjab, UP, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The crowd included people from every walk of life, from every district – from Canning to Coochbehar, Siliguri to Sunderbans.
The rally started with a musical performance by Bauls from Birbhum, which was followed by musical performances by artistes like Indranil Sen, Nachiketa and Shantanu, who enthralled the audience with some popular, yet inspiring songs. Party MP Shatabdi Roy and put up a dance performance, along with her troupe.
Present on the podium were various dignitaries, which included members of the Bengali film industry, artists, singers, painters, and social activists. The families of the martyrs, who gave their lives because of Left terror, were felicitated on the occasion. Despite her frail health, Mahashweta Devi also attended the rally.
Trinamool Chairperson began her speech with the recital of Tagore`s song Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol.
In her speech the party chairperson said, “BJP is not an alternative to the Congress. Trinamool Congress is the real alternative for the country. Our fight is against Congress, BJP, CPM and corruption. Our fight is for the people.”
“We don`t want corruption, we don`t want riots. We want good governance and united India,” the Trinamool Congress Chairperson said. Read the full transcript of Trinamool Chief`s speech here.
The rally ended with singing of the National Anthem.
