Trinamul and Congress Leaders Pay Homage to Ghani Khan on His 97th Birthday

On Wednesday, officials of Trinamul and the Congress party gathered in Malda to honor the 97th birthday of Congress patriarch A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury, also referred to as Barkat-da, at his ancestral home.

At the grave of Ghani Khan in Kotwali, the leaders of both parties paid their respects in unison.

Even now, 17 years after his passing, Trinamul and the Congress still use Ghani Khan's name to win support in a district where more than 50% of the population is underrepresented.

Mausam Noor, a Rajya Sabha MP of Trinamul, and Dulal Sarkar, the vice-president of Malda district Trinamul, stood alongside Ghani Khan's brother A.H. Khan Choudhury, the Congress MP of Malda South, the MP's son and former Congress MLA Isha Khan Choudhury, and party leader Mottakin Alam as they paid their respects to Ghani Khan on Wednesday morning.

There was an obvious camaraderie between the opposing leaders. Noor gave the Congress MP some flowers to place at Ghani Khan's grave.

An further Trinamul veteran named Sarkar remembered seeing "Barkat-da" in front of Congress officials at Kotwali Bhawan, where Ghani Khan had resided from his early years till his passing in 2006.

Trinamul and Congress officials honored Ghani Khan in front of his life-size sculptures in Malda town.

The head of the Englishbazar municipality, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, of Trinamul, honored the monument of Ghani Khan at Brindavani Grounds. Trinamul recalled an occasion for the Congress leader.

Congress officials celebrated the day in Town Hall, honored a second monument at Rathbari, and gave out sweets to passersby.

Still, both parties claimed Ghani Khan's political legacy.

Ghani Khan, according to Isha Khan Choudhury, thought that only the Congress could establish a stable, democratic, and secular administration at the federal level.

The civic chairman, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, said that Ghani Khan has endorsed Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee.