Rebel TMC shifts battle from party to streets, eyes public test with anti-gangster law, UCC protests

Kolkata, Jul 13 (PTI) Having taken its battle from legislature to organisation, the rebel TMC is now preparing to test its strength on the streets, with protests against the BJP government's anti-gangster law and proposed UCC set to mark the first public demonstration of its claim to be the party's rightful heir. The Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction is planning statewide movements against the newly enacted anti-gangster law and the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) after the July 21 Martyrs' Day programmes, marking its first major public mobilisation since unveiling parallel state and district committees last week. The sequence is deliberate. Over the past month, the rebels have steadily expanded their challenge to the Mamata Banerjee camp -- first through a special party session that removed her as party chairperson and elected senior MLA Arup Roy in her place, then by constituting a parallel national working committee, approaching the Election Commission seeking recognition as the "real" Trinamool Congress, and most recently by rolling out parallel state, district and frontal organisation committees. The proposed agitation now seeks to answer the remaining political question: whether the organisational gains claimed by the rebels can be translated into support on the ground. The timing is equally significant. This year's July 21 Martyrs' Day -- the TMC's biggest annual political mobilisation since its formation in 1998 -- will be observed separately by the rival camps, reflecting how an internal rebellion has evolved into a full-fledged contest over the party's identity, organisation and political inheritance. Once the July 21 rally concludes, the Ritabrata camp plans to launch district-level protests before expanding them to the block level, hoping to assess whether the grassroots network painstakingly built by the TMC over nearly three decades is shifting with the parallel leadership. "Politics cannot be confined to the Assembly. We will discharge our responsibility inside the House, but people's issues have to be fought on the streets," Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee said. Referring to the anti-gangster law, he said nobody opposed action against organised crime, "but vesting sweeping powers in the police and administration is fraught with danger". On the proposed UCC, he argued that it ran contrary to India's "unity in diversity". The immediate triggers are two politically contentious initiatives of the BJP government. The state legislature recently passed the anti-social activities prevention legislation and amendments to the Public Safety Act, which are expected to come into force following the governor's assent and official notification. The government has also constituted a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai to prepare the draft UCC for the state. The rebel faction has indicated that it may submit its views to the committee while simultaneously mobilising public opinion against the proposal. The BJP rejected the criticism, saying the anti-gangster law was aimed at dismantling organised crime networks that had flourished under previous governments and that the proposed UCC sought to ensure equality before the law across communities. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said the legislation was intended to restore the rule of law by targeting organised criminal syndicates, while the proposed UCC was meant to guarantee equal civil rights irrespective of religion. Interestingly, the rebels' objections broadly mirror those of the Mamata Banerjee camp. Her faction has also opposed both measures, describing the anti-gangster legislation as susceptible to political misuse while accusing the BJP government of using the proposed UCC to impose cultural uniformity. However, it dismissed the rebels' proposed agitation as politically motivated. "We oppose both measures, but the Ritabrata camp's protest is nothing but an eyewash. They are functioning as the BJP's B-team," senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said. The overlap underlines that the battle between the two Trinamool factions is no longer centred on ideology. Increasingly, it is about political legitimacy and organisational ownership -- which faction represents the original Trinamool Congress and can command its organisation, cadre and support base. That explains the organisational exercise unveiled last week. The rebels announced parallel state and district committees after a two-day working committee meeting in Kolkata, inducting several longtime Trinamool leaders, including former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal, into the new structure. The move marked a decisive shift from political rebellion to organisation-building, while their claim over the party remains pending before the Election Commission. The rebel group's expansion followed a series of political gains claimed by the faction after the assembly election. Last month, it asserted the support of 58 of the Trinamool's 80 MLAs in the contest over the Leader of the Opposition's post, rejecting the nominee backed by the Mamata Banerjee camp. Dissidents now claim their strength in the Assembly has risen to around 65 legislators. The split has also extended to Parliament, with the rebels claiming that 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs have broken away and aligned with the BJP-led NDA after merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), while several senior organisational leaders have also joined the parallel camp. For the Ritabrata camp, the protests are about more than opposing two government measures. They are the first attempt to demonstrate that a rebellion which has reshaped the legislature and divided the organisation can also command the streets -- the arena where the Trinamool Congress built its political identity. That may ultimately prove a more consequential test than the battle now unfolding before the Election Commission. PTI PNT NN