Bengal: Working People Throng Brigade Ground, Hope for ‘New Dawn’ in State

Lakhs of working people, men and women, from across West Bengal marched in unison on Sunday to gather at Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Grounds, to raise their voices of discontent against exploitation, oppression, divisive politics and, above all, their disillusionment with the functioning of the governments, both at the Centre (led by the Bharatiya Janata Party) and the state (led by the Trinamool Congress).

There were workers, farmers, agricultural labourers, teachers among the lakhs who had reached Kolkata.

‘This government has muzzled the voices of farmers,” said Abhijeet Konar of Burdwan, who was marching with his brother’s wife and two nieces. “We came by train today from Memari. We caught the 9.11 local train. Some 1,500 of us. We were supposed to come by bus that was booked days ago. But two days ago, the Trinamool activists threatened the bus owner that if the bus travels to Brigade, it would not be allowed to ply on its scheduled route in future. The owner cancelled our reservation. We have had enough. We need an environment where people can live and express their opinion freely,” he said.

The protest rally was called by Left organisations representing the working people in urban and rural areas, such as All India Kisna Sabha (AIKS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All Indian Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) and Pashchimbanga Bustee Unnayan Samity (PBUS-- a slum dwellers’ organisation). Those who addressed the rally included CPI(M)’s state secretary Mohd Salim, CITU’s Anadi Sahoo, AIKS’s Amal Halder, AIAWU’s Nirapada Sardar and PBUS leader Sukharanjan De, tribal leader Banya Tudu, among others.

CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohd. Salim addressing the mammoth rally of working people in Kolkata's Brigade Parade Grounds on Sunday, April 20, 2025.

‘Let This Rally be the Beginning of a New Dawn in Bengal’

Addressing nearly a million-strong crowd, Salim said “Our country is in grave turmoil as the BJP-led forces of Hindutva are spreading poison to bifurcate the country. The aim of our party is to save the country by throwing out BJP from governance at the Centre.”

In West Bengal, Salim said the condition was worse. “Both the Central and state governments have taken the country to the brink of devastation. The government is in Bengal consists of anti-socials who are in cohorts with BJP-RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). It is RSS that is scripting the lines of the TMC government,” he alleged.

The CPI(M) leader said while farmers and tea garden workers were dying by suicide, the Mamata Banerjee government was busy organising festivals.

Calling upon the working people to prepare for fight ahead, Salim raised a slogan to oust TMC government from West Bengal, which was echoed by the huge crowds.

“Next in line is the May 20 national strike convened by the working class of the country. After going home from this rally, for the next one month, create campaigns in every mohalla of the state to make the strike call a success”, he appealed to the crowd.

The rally began with revolutionary songs rendered by the Indian People’s Theare Association (IPTA), joined in by the crowds.

Sidelights

They came from Burdwan district, Block Raina 2, village Pasanda. Altogether 90 of them. They started their journey at around 8 a.m and entered the Rangers’ Ground where their bus was parked at around 10.55 a.m. All through the journey they were apprehensive that something untoward might happen on the way to the Birigade.

The bus carrying the 90 people were part of a convoy of some 30 buses carrying Left workers and supporters from the same area. They said they were happy that their journey had been safe. However, their existence in their villages had not been so, in the past few years.

“Trinamool has snatched away our patta given 15 years ago and their supporters are now tilling our land. We have been ousted from our own land,” lamented Arun Santra, a AIAWU activist, who was part of the 90-member group.

He said supporters of the ruling party were felling and selling trees planted during Left Front’s rule (for over three decades till 2011) as part of save-the-environment programme.

“They are even usurping the money allotted for building homes and toilets under Central government schemes,” complained Basanta Sen, an AIKS leader.

Narrating an incident, he said, “In 2016, one night, about 20 men armed with rifles invaded my home and ransacked it just because I am a Left supporter. They were selectively attacking homes of mass organisation activists and intimidating them,” he complained.

On Sunday, they had all trouped to the Brigade Parade Ground as a part of their protest against the ongoing Trinamool “goondagardi”, he said.

“We have come here to strengthen our party, to ensure our demands to end the torture of the poor, to demand employment, lower the prices of the essential commodities, to ensure that the honour of our womenfolk is not trampled with, among others. We want a new government to come,” said Sen. (West Bengal Assembly elections are scheduled in 2026).

“After enduring the oppression for days, today we have found some courage to stand up to it. We have formed groups to keep round-the-clock vigil in our villages to ward off any possible attacks,” said Sen, a resident of Madhabdihi village, in Burdwan, lamenting the lack of social security across villages.

Citing her story of “torture and deprivation”, Purnima Samanta, a kisan activist, said, “Nowadays families, especially those with young daughters, are worried whenever they step out of their homes for schools and colleges. A woman, a Left supporter, has been staying alone in a house in the Kusumpur village as her husband and son had gone to work outside the district. One night, miscreants forced their way into her home and raped her. Police initially refused to lodge a case. We held a street-corner meetings of women at the Kusumpur gram market.”

Samanta said today she was also part of those attending the rally at Brigade hoping these “dark days” will come to an end. She travelled with another 45 people in a bus from Manteswar.

Surajit Matia from Manteswar had his own story of intimidation. “I was a candidate in the bypolls. First, they (TMC workers) threatened me and tried to force me to withdraw my nomination. Then they beat up my father. The administration is on their side,” he added.

Kazi Mujjammal Haque, who hails from the village that once was home to late Left leader Binoy Choudhury – Sihi Gram – said in spite of being a panchayat member, he was not allowed to enter the panchayat office. He said he had four bighas of land and was not allowed to till it as well. “I have come to the Brigade to overthrow the incumbent government,” he added.

People from Durgapur, in industrial area, has similar stories to tell, of deprivation but of a different order. Joytish Chandra Das, a retired worker of the Durgapur Steel Plant and a local CITU activist, said, “We are coming from DSP Main Gate to attend this rally. We are 36 in all. We started our journey at 7 am”.

Rallyists listening to Left mass organisation leaders at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata, on Sunday, April 20, 2025.

He lives in an area that is cosmopolitan and inhabited by mainly the worker community from different parts of the country. “With the change of government in Bengal, 3,500 of our supporters who were working as temporary workers in DSP have lost their jobs,” he said, adding that “now local Trinamool supporters have taken their place.”

“But these workers are still with us,” he said. Five of those who lost their jobs accompnied him. Arun Kumar, who had lost his job, is now a pan seller, adivasi workers Dipu Chatri and Nilu Turi, both in their early 30s and both ex-workers of DSP, are now working in a local coal depot.

Others like Samsher Khan, 50, and Khurshid Alam, 47, have not been as lucky. They were wondering if they would find jobs at this age. They said they all rallied on Sunday in the hope that there would be a new government in the state soon.

Birinchi Mahato, from Purulia District’s Paragram, said he had taken a 3.40 am train early Saturday night to be in Kolkata. He is a jobless graduate. Asked why was he here? He said, “This government has done nothing for the jobless. They take exams but do not declare the results nor do they recruit as recruitment process is done through scams. We want this government to go. I have joined this rally to bring about a change.”