‘Let them dismiss me, won’t resign’: Mamata dubs polls an ‘atrocity’, tells new TMC MLAs to wear black | India News
Trinamool Congress (TMC) has called a meeting of its newly elected MLAs and senior leaders at Kalighat in Kolkata on Wednesday. Party leader and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata BanerjeeAlong with the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, addressed the rally to chart the course of the party after the electoral debacle.Addressing the gathering, outgoing chief minister Mamata Banerjee struck a defiant tone, calling for a symbolic protest to assert her intention to continue in office. He said he would not resign as chief minister and wait for the governor’s dismissal. Calling on his party members to protest against what he termed a “black day”, he asked them to wear black on the first day of the West Bengal assembly.“After the Bengal India team is united now. I will not resign. Let them fire me. I want it to be a black day. We have to be strong. On the first day of the assembly, wear black. Those who betray will be removed from the party. I am smiling. I have defeated them morally. I am a free bird. I may have lost and we fought for all, we may have lost and we fought directly,” news agency ANI quoted TMC sources as saying.He also alleged widespread irregularities and intimidation during the elections, claiming that several party workers were targeted.“Those who lost lost by force. I condemn West Bengal Police, CRPF, BJP-minded Chief Electoral Officer and ECI. More than 1500 party offices were hijacked. I was pushed and shoved. My chest was hurting. It was not an election but an atrocity,” Banerjee said during the meeting, sources added.After the meeting, the party posted about it on its official X account. In a post on X, it said the Kalighat meeting was aimed at motivating its leadership cadre. It said that Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee “instilled in them clarity, confidence, conviction and a renewed sense of purpose to carry on the good fight.”The statement said, “Our Chairperson Mamata Banerjee and National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee addressed a meeting with our leaders at Kalighat, instilling in them a sense of clarity, confidence, conviction and a renewed sense of purpose to continue the good fight. Whether in power or not, our commitment to serve the people of Bengal remains steadfast. We will stand with them and remain steadfast.” BJPThe teeth and nails of its tyranny and oppression.”The meeting focused on strengthening unity, responding to alleged irregularities during the elections and outlining the party’s political strategy going forward, the statement said.The TMC also asserted that it would continue to oppose what it described as “the tooth and nail of BJP’s tyranny and oppression”, hinting at an aggressive opposition role even after it regrouped after the election results.
