Yet Mamata Banerjee did not simply ignore the traffic situation. At one point, she expressed concern about vehicles entering the area where the meeting was taking place. She stopped the proceedings and asked that the vehicles be moved first.
“Our people will help you. Get these vehicles out. Ensure there is no inconvenience—whichever vehicles have entered,” she said from the stage, while also questioning why the police were not clearing the vehicles.
This is an important part of the incident because it complicates the allegation that Banerjee was simply seeking to prevent traffic movement. The available account instead shows her attempting to deal with vehicles that had entered the gathering area while trying to keep the programme going.
Banerjee’s broader political attack on Adhikari must also be understood in the context of the increasingly bitter battle within Bengal’s opposition politics. At the Cathedral Road programme, she alleged that permission for political events was being repeatedly denied, forcing her party to approach the courts to hold public meetings.
“Permission is not being granted for any political programmes; we have to go to court to secure permission. From now on, if the police do not grant permission, we will seek approval from the people and go ahead with our programmes,” she said.
Her criticism was therefore not limited to the immediate traffic dispute. It was also directed at what she portrayed as an attempt by the administration to make it increasingly difficult for her political organisation to hold public programmes.
The turnout at Friday’s meeting further underlined the political stakes. Despite Adhikari’s apparent support for the rebel TMC camp, the rival programme attracted considerably less attention and a smaller crowd than Banerjee’s gathering, according to the account provided. Her Cathedral Road meeting, by contrast, was visibly packed with supporters.
The contrast is politically significant. The competing rallies took place amid an open struggle between rival TMC factions following the party’s electoral setback. The Kalighat faction associated with Mamata Banerjee held its programme near the Birla Planetarium, while the rival faction organised its event on Rani Rashmoni Avenue.
The size of the crowds has consequently become another measure of the factions’ competing political influence. While the administration and Adhikari have focused on the alleged breach of court conditions, Banerjee’s supporters can point to the enthusiastic response to her programme as evidence that her political appeal remains substantial.
The police case nevertheless raises serious questions that must ultimately be settled through evidence rather than political declarations. If the court’s conditions were breached, responsibility must be established. But the circumstances also matter. A large political gathering can create unexpected traffic and crowd-control problems, and the fact that Banerjee publicly asked supporters to clear the vehicles is relevant when assessing her conduct.
The controversy therefore goes beyond the simple question of whether a road was blocked. It has become another battleground between Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari, with the police FIR adding a legal dimension to their political confrontation.
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