Trinamool Congress chairperson and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) took to the streets in Kolkata in protest of evictions of hawkers in the State. Accompanied Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh and former MP Dola Sen, Ms. Banerjee reached Esplanade in the heart of the city. The former Chief Minister marched for almost a kilometer to Subodh Mullick Square. The former Chief Minister’s presence drew large crowds.

The Trinamool Congress had described the eviction drive of hawkers across the State as “illegal, unjust and inhuman”. In a social media post, the Trinamool Congress said that people of West Bengal always come first for the party.

“Our Hon’ble Chairperson @MamataOfficial, alongside party leaders and dedicated workers, led a peaceful protest march against the illegal, unjust and deeply inhumane eviction of hawkers across #Bengal. The people of Bengal have always come first,” the party posted on social media.

The Trinamool Congress also added that the party will leave a stone unturned to fight for the dignity, livelihoods and rights of the workers. “The ruthless @BJP4Bengalregime, driven solely by greed for power and blatant disregard for ordinary citizens, will soon collapse under the weight of its own anti-people policies!,” the Trinamool Congress said.

The Trinamool chairperson who is facing the biggest political crisis with rebellion in the Lok Sabha MPs and MLAs did not make any statement before media.

Since the BJP came to power to West Bengal in May 2026, there has been eviction drive against hawkers and settlers in markets and across railway stations in the State. Thousands of hawkers and settlers occupying public land have been evicted from public land. The Communist Party of India ( Marxist) leadership in West Bengal tried to resist the eviction drive and in some cases the leaders were arrested. The Opposition parties both the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) are demanding rehabilitation of the hawkers before they are evicted.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on June 12 had defended the anti-encroachment drives against hawkers on Kolkata streets and railway stations.“People have the right to walk on footpaths. Nobody has the right to occupy them. No one has given me the right to hand over Kolkata’s wide roads and footpaths to anyone. I am accountable to the people,” Mr. Adhikari had said.

The Chief Minister claimed that congestion in areas such as New Market, Rajabazar and Metiabruz in Kolkata to argue that unchecked encroachment had become a governance issue rather than merely a livelihood issue.