Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha elect senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy made her first appearance on a political platform on Friday, sharing the stage with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and addressing party supporters from the dharna mancha, set up in protest against the Election Commission, over the conduct of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
After Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee introduced her to the gathering, Guruswamy began her speech “Jai Bangla,” she said, before adding, “Jai Samvidhan, Jai voting rights,” drawing a thundering applause from the crowd.
The senior advocate framed her remarks around the importance of the Indian Constitution and the right to vote. “For 200 years, we tolerated the British. We fought. We then adopted the Constitution, ‘We, the People’,” Guruswamy said. “The Constitution which we have adopted says two primary things about all of us: that we are all equals.”
She emphasised that equality under the Constitution transcends differences of identity. “We are equal irrespective of our religion, community, gender or the place we belong to. And the second most important point the Constitution emphasises is that every citizen of this country has the right to vote,” she said. “Today, this Constitution binds all of India.”
Switching to Hindi, Guruswamy described herself as an ordinary lawyer driven by a commitment to constitutional values. “I am a lawyer. And I am an ordinary lawyer. But I have only one thing in my heart, the Constitution of India,” she said.
The Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha elect also touched on concerns regarding voters’ rights in West Bengal. Referring to reports that large numbers of voters could face scrutiny, she warned that such a situation could undermine the democratic process.
“The Constitution has, for the first time, given every citizen the right to vote. I have not seen this before… that 60 lakh people in Bengal will now be adjudicated. You may even be stripped of your right to vote,” Guruswamy said. “If that happens, how will elections be free and fair? We will fight against this in the Supreme Court, and in every other court,” she added.
Guruswamy is among the Trinamool Congress nominees for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16 and is expected to secure a seat in the Upper House given the party’s numerical strength in the West Bengal Assembly.
