Abhishek Banerjee to continue sit-in protest at Raj Bhavan till Governor C.V. Ananda Bose meets him

On Friday, Abhishek Banerjee made the decision to remain in place in front of the Raj Bhavan until the governor, C.V. Ananda Bose, arrived to meet with a delegation of the Trinamul Congress that included 30 people.

On Thursday, the national general secretary of Trinamul began his "indefinite" sit-in protest.

In an evening address to the crowd from the dharna dais, Abhishek stated that Bose had sent an email to the group asking for a delegation to see him in Darjeeling on Saturday at 5.30 p.m. Bose left north Bengal on Thursday and is currently in Delhi.

We would send two to three persons there since we Bengalis always believe in courtesy and he is the governor of this state, said Abhishek, choosing as representatives for the party Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee, Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra, and rural development minister Pradip Mazumdar.

"They will go tell him that the genuine delegation, led by me, is waiting for him in Calcutta with 50 lakh letters from the people who are still denied the money they are owed under central programs. The potential heir and nephew of Mamata Banerjee continued, "He has to come meet us and confront me. "You may choose to stay anywhere you like, including Delhi or Darjeeling." I'll wait here till you come back and give me some space.

After Abhishek announced on Tuesday night that his party would march to Raj Bhavan, the 35-year-old leader questioned Bose's motivation for traveling to and from Delhi over the previous couple of days and skipping Calcutta. Bose responded that he was willing to sacrifice his festival in order to secure the rights of the people.

"If you (Bose) believe you would stay here for the festival, I won't go till after Puja. Take your time, no problem," he said to the loud applause of the large crowd.

The Diamond Harbour MP emphasized Bose's position as a nominee, setting it apart from that of his aunt, who is in her position as a resoundingly elected chief minister on her third straight term. "I am willing to wait here for days, weeks, months," the MP added.

In the lead-up to the general election next year, a group of Trinamul leaders claimed Abhishek's refusal to accelerate this movement, calling for the release of frozen central dues to the state, assumes significance because the young party's Number Two has been operating alone due to the party's supreme leader's forced absence due to illness.

Bose must speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his behalf in order for Abhishek to get clarification on two issues: first, whether 20 lakh workers from Bengal who are waiting on their wages for several months actually worked under the MGNREGS; and second, if they did, which legal provision permits the BJP-led Centre to freeze the funds for more than two years.

"I will stop the agitation the day I receive this clarification. Abhishek added, "We want the governor to write to Modi, ask for the explanation, get it, and then give it to us.

To thunderous acclaim from the audience, he continued, "If before Puja, the clarification does not arrive, I will not take part in the festival, and I will continue with the agitation."

Abhishek started the sit-in protest on Thursday following a three-hour protest outside the governor's mansion and a 90-minute mass march that he organized from Rabindra Sadan.

These actions were in response to allegations that Delhi Police beat and mistreated a delegation of 40 people on Tuesday night at the Krishi Bhavan in Delhi after denying them a meeting with junior Union rural development minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.