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KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, announced that Trinamool Congress will be organising ‘Nationalist Rally’ for two consecutive days on May 17 and May 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the state to celebrate the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’ launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Chief Minister’s announcement for organising the ‘Nationalist Rally’ on Wednesday came just few hours after the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state unit of BJP will be organising ‘Tiranga Yatra’ in Kolkata on May 16 to mark the success Operation Sindoor and to pay tribute to the courage of the Indian armed forces.

Speaking to the media persons a couple of hours after Adhikari’s announcement, Mamata said that Trinamool Congress will be organising the ‘Nationalist Rally’ for two consecutive days both at bloc-levels in the rural areas and ward-level in urban areas to pay homage to the martyrs of Indian armed forces as well as to express sympathy towards their family members.

“This will not be a political programme. Rather, this will be a reflection of our social responsibility, ” the Chief Minister added.

The state president of Trinamool Congress, Subrata Bakshi, had already sent a note to the respective district leadership of the party to start preparations for organising the ‘Nationalist Rally’ on Saturday and Sunday. Bakshi had also directed the party cadres to make an attempt to involve the family members of the martyrs in the areas concerned, if any, in that programme.

Political observers feel that this sudden announcement of the ‘Nationalist Rally’ by Trinamool Congress is a counter to BJP’s ‘Tiranga Yatra’, so that the saffron camp cannot take advantage of the nationalist feelings of the people in general over Operation Sindoor, the reflection of which could be felt in the crucial West Bengal Assembly election due next year.