Why TMC is celebrating Martyrs' Day today to know 31 years of Kolkata firing case

21 July 1993, exactly 31 years ago, was the day when 13 innocent lives were lost in the history of Kolkata. All over West Bengal celebrates this day as Martyrs' Day. Demands for change in the country have arisen from time to time, and there have been movements demanding change from time to time. In 1993 one such movement was conducted by the then Youth Congress. This movement is being led by the current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In 1991, the Communist Left Front formed a majority government in West Bengal and Jyoti Basu became the chief minister of the state. After the Communist Left Front won with a large majority, opposition parties alleged electoral fraud. This created a new movement in the state, after which opposition parties started demanding voter ID card mandatory for voting. At that time Mamata Banerjee led the movement, Mamata Banerjee was getting her feet wet in politics, she was the Youth Congress leader. On July 21, 1993, Mamata Banerjee led the movement, and the intention was for the writers to march to the building. In this movement, people have demanded that voter ID card be made mandatory to ensure free and fair voting. The march started towards the Writers Building on July 21 with strong intentions. Around 11 am, state police stopped the protesters at the intersection of Metro Theater on Mayo Road and Dorina Road on Esplanade, about a kilometer before reaching the building. The police started firing bullets to stop the protesters, after which the situation worsened. Thirteen people were killed and many others injured in the firing. The Police Commissioner said: After this incident, the then City Police Commissioner Tushar Talukdar said that the police were already fearing that a march might be held up to the Writers Building and Raj Bhavan and 144 Prohibitory Order was also issued. In a press conference after the incident, Talukdar had said that he did not know when the firing had started. Talukdar said a junior started firing. Immediately Union Home Minister S.P. Chavan, who reached Calcutta after the incident, advised the state government to order a judicial inquiry into the incident. But Chief Minister Jyoti Basu did not order any investigation. Mamata Banerjee's political journey took a new turn Mamata Banerjee who led the movement was also critically injured in police firing but the day Mamata Banerjee's political journey took a new turn. He got public sympathy and support. Mamata Banerjee was already a rising figure in state politics, but now her respect among the public has increased even further. In the years to come, the July 21 anniversary of the event became the party's largest annual public rally. Mamata Banerjee formed the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 1997, after which the party formed the government for the first time in the state in 2011. “Worse than the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre” Since then every year July 21 is celebrated as “Martyrs' Day” by both Congress and Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. DMK, after coming to power, set up a committee to investigate the incident. The TMC formed the commission headed by former Chief Justice (Retd) of Odisha High Court Sushanto Chattopadhyay. Justice Chatterjee, while submitting the report in 2014, said, “The Commission has come to the conclusion that this case is worse than the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.”