Kolkata: Addressing a gathering on Cathedral Road during the annual Martyr’s Day rally, Mamata Banerjee declared her willingness to attend Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests in New Delhi and called for broader opposition unity against BJP.The former CM also vowed to take the fight for her party symbol to the Supreme Court and insisted that traitors would never be allowed back into the party. “You may snatch away my symbol, but I will never give up the one the people truly accept. If needed, I will go all the way to the SC. As the founding president, they have no legal right to take our symbol. You are doing it through brute force, just as you forcefully took away votes. But if you take it away, remember, I will take everything back,” she said.“People are deeply helpless right now, and we must stand by them. If needed, I will personally join the Cockroach Party events. Our support was there from the beginning, and it will remain. If we all take to the streets together, they will be forced to run — they will have to flee just to save face,” Banerjee said. Her party MPs, Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose, have already joined the demonstrators at Jantar Mantar.Calling for wider opposition unity at both the Centre and in Bengal, Banerjee said, “Across India, we fight together as part of the INDIA alliance, and we do the same in Bengal. My priority has never been personal rivalry; it has always been the protection of democracy and constitutional values.”Making a significant overture to the Congress and CPM without naming them, she added, “I also appeal to every political force in Bengal that is opposed to the BJP. Come together, unite, and prepare for the democratic struggle ahead. I have no objection if everyone stands together for this cause.”She warned: “If we lose the courage to stand up today, who will carry forward the struggle from Kolkata to Delhi tomorrow?”Leaning on the Delhi demonstrations to rally her supporters, Banerjee noted, “Recent events in Delhi have shown how quickly situations can escalate during political confrontations. I have heard reports from Parliament that circumstances became so tense that even the PM had to alter his plans.”Banerjee asserted that she was not afraid of imprisonment. “Eating rice in jail is always better than eating the BJP’s rice. We will soon tour the districts — all of us will be there. Don’t be scared; we are ready to go to jail,” she said.Turning her attention to party rebels, Banerjee claimed she represents the “real” TMC. She raised the slogan, “Long live the real Trinamool Congress,” before ending her speech with, “The game is on.”Banerjee pledged to continue her agitation on the ground. “I will continue to travel across the districts and remain among the people. Even if permission is denied, I am prepared to walk the streets,” she said, adding that the party’s next event will focus on students and youth. “They are trying to capture colleges just as they did with municipalities and panchayats. I have plans, but I will not announce them now as they (BJP and rebels) might sabotage them,” she said.Without naming CM Suvendu Adhikari, Banerjee alleged that instead of maintaining law and order, efforts were being directed solely at thinning Trinamool’s ranks. She further alleged that state police and investigating agencies like the CID and STF had slapped 14,000 cases on Trinamool functionaries and workers. Defending party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, she said, “Four hundred cases have been filed against Abhishek, but they will not be able to prove a single one.”Along Cathedral Road, supporters ensured their allegiance to Didi echoed across the venue. Salil Das from Midnapore, Krishna Chakraborty from Konnagar, and 81-year-old Shankar Desai Prasad from Kharagpur said attending the annual rally has become a habit.Desai, flanked by 76-year-old Atanu Mukherjee, recalled the 1993 firing incident. “Grassroots workers never desert a party. That is why 13 of them took bullets back then,” he said.Sabita Hembram from Purulia reached a day before anticipating disruptions.
