FORWARD BLOC

On-road gathering : FB to remember 5 martyrs

 

COOCH BEHAR, Feb. 3: The Forward Bloc will observe the Martyrs Day on 5 February at Dinhata to commemorate the five activists who were killed in police firing on that day last year. A large gathering will be organised along the Dinhata-Cooch Behar road beginning from the gate of the office of the Dinhata SDO. But, the party will not seek any permission from the administration to hold the programme on the road that may disrupt traffic movement for a few hours. After the district secretariat meeting of the party in Cooch Behar today the district secretary and also a state secretariat member, Mr Udayan Guha announced the programme.

 

Mr Guha said they would erect a makeshift martyrs column to let the people pay their homage to the five martyrs. A decorated truck is to act as the dais from where the speakers are to address the gathering. On being asked whether they will seek permission from the administration to hold the programme the FB leader replied negative. "We are not worry about any permission and we are not going to seek anything like that, In Kolkata and here too", he said. "We took it granted that the authorities would not extend any permission", he added.

 

When contacted, the district magistrate Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha said he was not aware yet of the Forward Bloc's proposed on-road programme. "I will have to make inquiries into that before making a comment," he said. Mr Guha claimed that two DSPs came to them to know the programme details. Attempts failed to contact the SP Mr Devendra Prakash Sing over telephone to know the probable role of the police but his two mobile phones rang unattended.

 

It was learnt that the ministers, MLAs and MPs of the party are not to attend the gathering at Dinhata perhaps to avoid legal difficulties.

 

The aim of the programme is to float a message to all so that no government machinery can repeat the similar incident during any democratic movement, Mr Guha said. "The police are trying to convince all that they had opened fire compelled by the situation but it was not true. On 5 February we will bring some bullet-injured innocent persons who were not named in the FIR yet though a killed man's name still exists in the FIR lodged by the police. We want the judicial inquiry commission to complete its job speedily", the FB leader, said.

 

In the secretariat meeting it was decided that during the address on 5 February the leaders will make it known to all that the Forward Bloc was the first that had organised last year's law violation programme to demand correction of BPL list, job under NREGA schemes, right of Adivasis on water-land-forest, consideration of economic situation of the poor people of minority and scheduled caste communities.

 

PHOTO : Forward Bloc leader Mr Udayan Guha talks with media persons while Cooch Behar (North) MLA Mr Dipak Sarkar and former Sitai MLA Mr Nripen Roy look on. In Cooch Behar on Tuesday. - DB.