Trinamul presses Delhi police for permission to hold dharna in October

Even though the party's top leadership has resolved to carry with the plan even without administrative approval, Trinamul has once again pressed Delhi police for permission to hold its planned dharna in the national capital in October.

Derek O'Brien, the leader of Trinamul in the Rajya Sabha, wrote to Delhi police on Wednesday to inquire about the status of the party's August 31 request for authorization to hold protests at Jantar Mantar, in front of Union rural development minister Giriraj Singh's Lodhi Estate residence, and at Krishi Bhavan between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on October 2 and 3.

On August 30, Trinamul claimed that it had been denied permission by Delhi police, which answers to Union home minister Amit Shah, to use the Ramlila Maidan in the capital as the site of the party's planned massive anti-Centre rally on Gandhi Jayanti, which Mamata Banerjee, the party's leader and chief of Bengal, was scheduled to attend.

Trinamul had originally planned for the event to feature several lakh workers and supporters from Bengal, but if permission is not given, it will need to be redone with a new structure or a different, open location.

"She (Mamata) has declared that regardless of approval, we would go through with the initiative in a different form. On Gandhi Jayanti, she declared that no one may be prevented from entering Raj Ghat, the Delhi location of Gandhi's monument. She would only hold a dharna there with the MPs and MLAs from her party, according to a source close to the chief minister.

He said, "She is adamant about the program, and it will happen nonetheless.

The "Abar Dilli Cholo (Let's go to Delhi again)" program was first proposed on March 29 at a public meeting in the city by Trinamul national general-secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee. A day later, Mamata Banerjee publicly endorsed the program at the conclusion of her 31-hour Red Road dharna against Bengal's alleged stepmotherly treatment by the BJP-led Centre.

Both Mamata and Abhishek mentioned the Trinamul party's intentions for the October program during their statements at the Martyrs' Day event on July 21.

They said that in addition to the Narendra Modi administration's resignation, they will also seek the release of the Centre's blocked money owed to Bengal, which total more than Rs 1.15 lakh crore.