A day ahead of mega rally, hundreds of Trinamool Congress leaders and supporters arrived in national capital Delhi on Sunday to protest against the Centre and demand release of funds for MGNREGA and other government schemes. The two day protest will see a sit-in by TMC MPs at Rajghat on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti which will be followed by a peaceful rally by TMC supporters and job card holders on October 3.

Speaking about the rally, TMC MP Khalilur Rahaman said that the TMC leaders and supporters will participate in the protest against the central government under the leadership of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

“We have come here to protest against the central government; they are stopping the development of West Bengal. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, we will participate in this protest,” Rahaman was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

According to reports, around four thousand TMC supporters and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA job card holders along with party’s pachayat pramukhs were hoping to board a special train from Kolkata to reach the national capital. However, the train was cancelled and now the TMC has arranged for private buses to ferry its supporters to Delhi.

TMC Cries foul over train cancellation, ED summons

Interestingly, the Enforcement Directorate has also summoned TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee for questioning on October 3. Banerjee has cried foul over the ED summon that clashes with his party’s rally in Delhi.

“Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons,” Abhishek said in a post on X.

“Now, today yet again they have served me another summons to appear before them on a day when the protest agitation for West Bengal’s rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3^rd Oct. This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED!” the TMC leader added.

The Diamond Harbour MP accused the Centre for trying to “crush” the movement of West Bengal’s poor people by cancelling trains and deploying ED and CBI. “But it (the measures) will backfire,” he reportedly told party workers.

“It is clear that they (BJP) want to teach people of Bengal a lesson as they voted overwhelmingly in favour of TMC in the 2021 assembly polls and in subsequent by-polls. If this is BJP’s way of revenge, a bigger and nastier blow awaits it in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” the TMC national general secretary asserted.