After the legal battle surrounding the annual July 21 Martyr’s Day programme, the dispute over the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad's (TMCP) foundation day celebrations has now reached the Calcutta High Court. The Kalighat-aligned faction of the student organisation has approached the court seeking permission to hold its foundation day rally on August 28 with an urgent hearing likely to take place next Wednesday before Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.
During Monday's proceedings, advocate Arka Kumar Nag, appearing for the Kalighat faction, brought the matter to the court's attention. He submitted that the faction had applied to the police administration on July 27 seeking permission to organise the foundation day rally.
According to the faction, letters were subsequently sent to the authorities on August 3 and August 7 seeking an update on the application. However, no response was received from Lalbazar police headquarters or the local administration. With the proposed rally date approaching, the faction decided to seek the High Court's intervention.
The TMCP's foundation day rally has traditionally been organised at the foot of the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road in central Kolkata. This year, however, the question of who will be allowed to use the traditional venue has assumed greater political significance following a split within the organisation.
According to the factional arrangement cited by the petitioners, the TMCP has now divided into three camps following the parent organisation's electoral setback. One faction has aligned itself with the NCPI, another remains with the camp of Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, while the third continues to be associated with the original Kalighat camp.
The divisions were also visible during the July 21 programme. The NCPI organised a separate event in Delhi, while the Kalighat faction and the Ritabrata-aligned faction held separate programmes at different locations in Kolkata.
The three-way split has now raised questions over which faction will be granted permission to organise a rally at the traditional Mayo Road venue on August 28. The Kalighat faction, however, has made it clear that it intends to hold its main foundation day rally at Mayo Road and continue the organisation's established tradition.
The high court's decision on the petition is therefore expected to have significance not only for the proposed rally but also for the competing claims of the rival TMCP factions.
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