New Delhi: Khela Hobe Day is being celebrated in West Bengal today. The Trinamool Congress government is celebrating ‘Khela Hobe’ day in memory of football fans who were killed in a stampede during a match in 1980. On this occasion, the ruling Trinamool Congress government is distributing footballs to the players in various sports clubs of the state.
During the West Bengal Assembly elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gave the slogan ‘Khelo Hobe’. The slogan gained popularity during the West Bengal elections and was not only used for election campaigns. Now Mamta Banerjee is celebrating a day using this slogan.
In a Twitter post, Trinamool Minister Becharam Manna shared a poster which claimed that 1 lakh footballs were distributed among students across the state.
Today we are celebrating “Khela Hobe Day” all over West Bengal.#khelahobdibas pic.twitter.com/ny03tGW6ko
— Becharam Manna (@mlabecharam) August 16, 2021
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal has been raising strong objections to TMC’s Khela Hobe Divas. The BJP said that the Muslim League had announced to observe Direct Action Day on the same day in 1946, which resulted in heavy violence.
The BJP said the TMC wanted to bring back that era of injustice and atrocities by choosing August 16 as ‘Khela Hobe Diwas’. The BJP also alleged that the TMC has started violence against BJP workers after the announcement of the assembly election results on May 2. The TMC wants to promote such violent incidents through Khela Hobe Day, the BJP said.
Mamata Banerjee’s party returned to power with an overwhelming majority in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections, while the BJP emerged as the second largest party in the state.
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