The “Khela Hobe” slogan, which was the key political slogan of the Trinamul Congress in the run-up to the Assembly elections in West Bengal, has now attained popularity across the country and is being raised in the Parliament and many other states, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee while inaugurating it as the government’s flagship scheme for the youth.

“One accepts it or not but “Khela Hobe” has become very popular. From Parliament to Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the “Khela Hobe” slogan is being raised. A part of the game has been completed and the rest will be held. Life can’t progress without ‘khela’ and it brings unity, secularity and brotherhood. Sports is close to our hearts. In Bengal we have set up a huge infrastructure for sports and provided financial aid amounting to Rs five lakh each to 25,000 clubs,” said Miss Banerjee while inaugurating ‘Khela Hobe’ programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, which is the first government programme since the second pandemic wave broke out.

The programme was held with an audience of 760 people against the stadium’s total capacity of 1500. The state government has recently allowed an indoor government programme with 50 per cent capacity. Miss Banerjee urged the clubs to take this slogan ahead through their sports activities.

“If we have to make this slogan permanent then it has to be made effective through different sports activities and programmes. This slogan is so popular that when I went on election campaigning I was greeted by “Khela Hobe” as soon as I alighted from my car. People of Bengal love this slogan very much and now it is being raised in the Parliament and in other states. This is Bengal’s pride as we have shown the path. It is for the clubs to take the spirit of the slogan ahead,” said Miss Banerjee.

During her recent visit to Delhi, Miss Banerjee had said that in 2024 “poore desh me khela hobe” (game will be on all over the country), while she held meetings with several Opposition leaders there. She had termed the “khela” to be a “continuous process,” and said that in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Opposition will be stronger than the BJP and will create history.

The “Khela Hobe” slogan had captured much attention in the political spectrum ahead of the Assembly elections. The slogan was first started by Trinamul’s youth wing leader Debangshu Bhattacharya and was then popularised in West Bengal by Anubrata Mondal, the party president of Birbhum district.

The ‘Khela Hobe Dibas’ will be celebrated on 16 August in memory of the 16 people who lost their lives in a stampede during the 1980 match at the iconic Eden Gardens. Sports activities will be held in all the blocks, municipalities and municipal corporations and all wards of KMC on that occasion.

Under this scheme, the state sports and youth affairs department handed over more than one lakh footballs to various sporting clubs to encourage the youth and students for playing football and thereby develop sports activities in the state. The 303 IFA-affiliated clubs also received 10 footballs each.

On the occasion, appointment letters for the post of special home guards were handed over to 220 people from Junglemahal districts namely 110 people from West Midnapore, Jhargram (80), Purulia(19) and Bankura (11). Till now, 40 to 50,000 jobs have been handed over to people of this region in posts of junior constables, home guards, NVF and civic volunteers. Of which, 1300 jobs were given to the surrendered Maoists activists and another 550 jobs to the Maoist victim families. In north Bengal, 1,000 KLO activists have been given jobs and brought back to the mainstream.

Next, Miss Banerjee inaugurated the telemedicine service ‘Swasthya Ingit’. The state government has taken the initiative to offer free telemedicine services to provide quality healthcare to the rural population. Villagers will have ease of access to medical advice from doctors through selected Suswasthya Kendras, which provide services at the grassroot level across the state. People can get free medical advice thereby reducing the cost of healthcare expenditure and facilitating faster diagnosis and treatment. In the first phase 2313 Suswasthya Kendras will be developed into decentralised e-clinics where the services will be available.