On a day when a complaint was lodged against her with the state election commission for fomenting communal sentiments, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday addressed a rally at Shamsul Huda Road, flanked by Rizwanur Rehman’s mother Kishwar Jahan and brother Rukbanur Rehman. “It is God’s message that the high court order came on a day on which we had a rally pre-planned at a place from where the movement demanding justice for Rizwanur Rehman had started. The name of Rizwanur has become a beacon in the fight for humanity,” Ms Banerjee said.
She added that if Rukbanur Rehman was defeated, it will be a defeat for humanity. “Some people have alleged that we are communal. Let me remind them that we do not share the dais with BJP and did not take their help to win seats in Lok Sabha polls,” she said. She alleged that it was the CPI(M) which was trying to divide the vote on the basis of religion since they knew they were going to be defeated. “We have proved time and again that we are not communal and it is my appeal to people to vote for Rukbanur,” she said. However, the failure to strike an alliance with the Congress has seemingly taken a toll on the Trinamul Congress in minority-dominated areas like Shamsul Huda Road and Bright Street. The Trinamul chief’s rally, which usually has thousands of supporters jamming the roads, was attended by a couple of hundred people. “CPI(M) councillor Sushil Sharma has done good work here. There are lights on all the streets and the roads have been repaired. Javed Ahmed Khan is an outsider here and many do not want him as the councillor,” said a local resident. The area has ward numbers 64 from where Javed Ahmed Khan is in fray and ward number 65 from where Rukbanur is contesting.