# Bengal's Martyrs' Day Turns Into a Fresh Political Slugfest Over Compensation, Dilip Ghosh Targets Mamata Banerjee

> Dilip Ghosh accused Mamata Banerjee of betraying the martyrs and their families over incomplete compensation for the 1993 police firing victims, as both the TMC and Congress prepare separate Shahid Diwas events on 21 July.

**Type:** article · **Category:** Politics · **Published:** 2026-07-21 · **Source:** TrendKia
**Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/politics/shahida-divasa-para-muavaje-aura-javabadehi-ko-lekara-chhiri-siyasi-jnga-dilip-ghosh-ne-mamata-banerjee-ko-ghera-9418 · **Language:** English
**Tags:** Dilip Ghosh, Mamata Banerjee, Shahid Diwas, West Bengal politics, 21 July 1993, TMC Congress rift

A war of words has broken out in West Bengal over Shahid Diwas, with Dilip Ghosh launching a pointed attack on Mamata Banerjee. He said the site was not merely a protest ground but a platform dedicated to the martyrs, and asked why Mamata Banerjee had stayed there through the night. According to him, whether she sits there by night or by day makes no difference, because she has broken the trust of the martyrs, their families and the public, which is why she now stands alone.

Ghosh did not stop there. He brought up the families of those killed in the police firing of 21 July 1993, saying they have still not received the full compensation they were owed.

## Serious allegations over compensation
Ghosh claimed that a court had directed that the martyrs' families be paid Rs 25 lakh in compensation, but the administration handed over only Rs 2 lakh to them. He alleged that officials pocketed the remaining amount for themselves, calling it an outright betrayal of the martyrs' families, and said this is precisely the fear that continues to haunt Mamata Banerjee even today.

## Those responsible handed political posts instead of punishment
In another sharp charge, Ghosh said that instead of facing action for the 1993 firing, those involved were rewarded with positions as ministers, MPs and MLAs. In other words, people who should have faced accountability instead climbed the corridors of power.

## The bloody evening of 1993 that gave rise to Shahid Diwas
West Bengal observes 21 July every year as Shahid Diwas. The day commemorates a police firing on a protest march in 1993, during the Left Front government's tenure, in which 13 Youth Congress workers were killed. That date has since become an emotionally charged occasion in Bengal's politics, with different parties marking it in their own ways each year.

## This year's event returns to the actual site
TMC MLA Sandipan Saha said on Monday that his party has organised this event for years, but what is different this time is that the programme is being held on the very main road where the 1993 incident took place. Many see this as symbolically significant, since holding the event at the actual site brings back memories of that period more directly.

## Congress seeks its own tribute programme
Before this row broke out, West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar had said the party received formal permission to hold its own tribute programme at Shahid Minar. He made clear that Congress would organise its own memorial event, since the workers who lost their lives were carrying the Congress flag at the time. Sarkar also asked why Mamata Banerjee does not mark the occasion under that very flag, for which those workers had given their lives. The entire episode has emerged amid rising political friction within the TMC, and it could well escalate further in the days ahead.

## What this means for you
- **Across India:** The row highlights how questions over promised government compensation for martyrs and accountability for it can quickly turn into a political flashpoint.
- **In West Bengal:** With both the TMC and Congress now holding separate 21 July programmes, the long-pending compensation issue for the 1993 firing victims' families is back in the spotlight.

## Questions & Answers

### 1. What did Dilip Ghosh accuse Mamata Banerjee of?
He said she has broken the trust of the martyrs, their families and the public, which is why she now stands alone.

### 2. What happened on 21 July 1993?
During the Left Front government's tenure, police firing on a protest march killed 13 Youth Congress workers, which is why 21 July is marked as Shahid Diwas every year.

### 3. How much compensation was ordered for the martyrs' families, and how much did they actually get?
According to Ghosh, a court ordered Rs 25 lakh in compensation, but families were actually given only Rs 2 lakh.

### 4. What did Ghosh say about those responsible for the firing?
He alleged that instead of facing action for the 1993 firing, those involved were made ministers, MPs and MLAs.

### 5. Where is this year's Shahid Diwas event being held?
TMC MLA Sandipan Saha said the programme is this time being held on the very main road where the 1993 incident took place.

### 6. What is Congress's position on this issue?
West Bengal Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar said the party has received formal permission to hold its own tribute programme at Shahid Minar in memory of the workers killed in 1993.

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