Mamata Stages Unscheduled Protest March Against Hawker Eviction in Kolkata

Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday led an unscheduled protest march in central Kolkata against the eviction of hawkers, asserting that rehabilitation must precede any drive to remove roadside vendors.

The former chief minister did not disclose her plans in advance to the administration.

The TMC chairperson, accompanied by leaders such as Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh and former MP Dola Sen, reached Esplanade in the heart of the city, where her sudden appearance drew large crowds.

She then led a march from there to Subodh Mullick Square, a distance of nearly 1.2 km, protesting what the party described as "illegal, unjust and inhuman" eviction drives against hawkers across the state.

In a statement posted on social media, the Trinamool Congress said Banerjee, along with party leaders and workers, led a peaceful protest against the eviction of hawkers and vowed to defend the dignity, livelihoods and rights of ordinary people.

The protest came amid the party's continuing campaign against hawker eviction drives. Earlier, TMC leaders had staged a sit-in at Sealdah, demanding rehabilitation for vendors before any eviction exercise.

"Without rehabilitation, we will not accept hawker eviction. People's livelihoods cannot be destroyed," Kunal Ghosh had said during the protest.

The latest march, however, witnessed a relatively limited presence of elected representatives, with many Trinamool MLAs and councillors absent from the programme despite the party's recent call for protests on issues including hawker eviction and alleged post-poll violence.

The BJP has maintained that encroachment on public spaces must be addressed in accordance with the law, while the Trinamool Congress has insisted that rehabilitation measures should be implemented before any eviction of hawkers.