NEW DELHI: Amid a thaw in relations, Congress on Tuesday invited Trinamool Congress supremo and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to the party’s “Martyrs’ Day” programme in Kolkata. However, the invitation came with the condition that she should publicly acknowledge that leaving the Congress nearly three decades ago was a “mistake”.While talking to reporters ahead of the ‘Martyrs’ Day’ programme at Shahid Minar, West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said that Mamata should recognise the historical significance of the July 21, 1993, movement instead of “attempting to rewrite its legacy”.“If Mamata Banerjee really has the courage, she should not distort history. She should admit that she took a wrong political decision in the past. She is welcome to come to our programme at Shahid Minar and pay tribute to the martyrs,” Sarkar said.“The movement of July 21, 1993, was held under the Youth Congress flag. That is a part of history, and there is no scope to deny it. A political leader who respects his or her own political past earns greater respect,” he added.He said that Mamata’s participation in the programme, along with the acknowledgement that quitting the Congress was a political error, would be a significant gesture.“If she publicly says that leaving the Congress was a mistake and comes to the Shahid Minar stage to pay homage to the July 21 martyrs, it will be an important act of political atonement,” Sarkar said.“It will at least show an effort to correct some of the mistakes of the past. The Congress stage is open to everyone, and she is free to come and pay her respects,” he added.On July 21, 1993, 13 people allegedly died at a Youth Congress rally led by Mamata Banerjee after police opened fire.Despite leaving the Congress in 1997 and forming the TMC, Mamata has been observing the day over the years with mega rallies. Meanwhile, the Congress continued to mark the day with comparatively low-key programmes.However, the situation has somewhat changed this year after the TMC lost power in the Bengal Assembly elections and was subsequently beset by rebellion on multiple fronts.The rebel TMC faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee is organising a separate observance of the anniversary near the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Esplanade. On the other hand, police have denied permission to the group loyal to the former CM to hold the programme in front of Victoria House, where it has traditionally been held, with the matter now pending in court.
