Kolkata: At a time when the BJP is comparing TMC's ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’ on August 16 with Great Calcutta Killings, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said that the party will celebrate ‘Khela hobe Diwas’ to induce sportsman spirit in people.
Addressing a press conference, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that people might think many things but the main motive behind celebrating such day is to inculcate ‘sportsman spirit’.
“Today democracy is in danger and through proper sportsman spirit we can fight the odds and create a beautiful India. The authoritarian attitude of the BJP can only be defeated through positive spirit. One more reason for choosing August 16 is to make people feel the importance of being independent as the day after is Independence day,” said Mamata adding a total one lakh footballs will be distributed across the state on August 16.
Reminding an untoward incident that happened in Kolkata in 1980 during a football match that claimed 16 lives, Mamata said that through ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’ the TMC will pay tribute to the deceased people.
“After the incident every year people used to protest against the incident and gradually now people have forgotten the incident but through our program we will pay tribute to people who have died,” mentioned the TMC supremo.
It can be recalled that a day before when Mamata had announced August 16 as Khela Hobe Diwas, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slammed the TMC supremo for choosing the ‘Great Calcutta Killing’ day as TMC’s party program.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta took to Twitter and wrote, “Interesting @MamataOfficial has declared August 16 as “Khela hobe diwas”. It is the day the Muslim League launched its Direct Action Day & began the Great Calcutta Killings in 1946. In today’s West Bengal, “Khela Hobe” has come to symbolise a wave of terror attacks on opponents.”
Notably, the ‘Khela Hobe’ (game is on) slogan is one of the reasons that brought TMC to power for the third time in West Bengal. It was slammed by the saffron camp during the election and the BJP termed it to be a violent slogan.
