Members of the Trinamool Congress party have kickstarted the celebration of the ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’ in Tripura on August 16. A video from Tripura’s Agartala, shared by news agency ANI, shows TMC workers playing football and raising ‘Khela Hobe’ slogans.
#WATCH | TMC workers observe ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’ in Agartala over a game of football and sloganeering. pic.twitter.com/EQ0GSzmLcZ
— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2021
Speaking on the occasion, TMC leader Santanu Sen said: “In 2021, on the soil of West Bengal, a slogan was raised by Mamata Banerjee ‘Khela Hobe’ which has become the brand slogan of the entire opposition and it was witnessed even on the floor of the parliament”.
“Now we are standing on the grounds of Tripura where there is misrule and hooliganism of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). And here we are pledging that ‘Khela Hobe’ and ‘Khela Hobe’ for development, democracy, permanent political independence and change in 2023”, he added.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced August 16 as ‘Khela Hobe Diwas,’ and the Trinamool Youth Congress held a four-kilometre cycle race in which 400 students who were given bicycles by the government under the Sabooj Sathi plan participated.
Mamata Banerjee selects August 16 to observe ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’, the day coincides with ‘Direct Action Day’
For the uninitiated, Mamata Banerjee had announced her decision to celebrate the ‘Khala Hobe Diwas’ on August 16 this year, to launch her campaign to remove BJP from power in various states in the coming months. She had then said that the “Khela Hobe” slogan would now be used at the national stage and declared that “Khela” will now happen in all states until the BJP is removed from the country.
Incidentally, August 16 is the day when Muhammad Ali Jinnah called on Muslims throughout India to observe the Direct Action Day, also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, when thousands of Hindus were butchered by Islamists of the Muslims Leagues on the streets of Kolkata. Mamata Banerjee has been widely condemned for her insensitive decision.
Two months after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) swept the West Bengal State Legislative polls, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced to commemorate her election slogan in the form of ‘Khela Hobe Diwas‘.
Initially, the slogan appeared as a harmless jibe against the opposition but soon started to showcase its true colours. At the very onset, TMC members made a wall painting in Bengal wherein Mamata Banerjee was seen hitting PM Modi’s head instead of a football. During her election rallies, the West Bengal Chief Minister continued to provoke her party workers to retaliate against the central armed forces and BJP workers. Several instances of violence were thus reported during the various stages of polling.
After the TMC’s victory, Bengal has seen rampant violence, loot, arson and murders of people who had not voted for TMC, especially the supporters of the BJP. The NHRC in its report had mentioned that TMC goons, with support from local police, have indulged in rapes and intimidation of BJP supporters in the state.
