Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 5: With the squabbling within the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary party taking an ugly turn, the party chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday appointed Ms Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new chief whip of the party in the Lok Sabha and Ms Satabdi Roy as the deputy leader.
Ms Banerjee had named her nephew and the party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha on Monday. While Mr Abhishek Banerjee’s appointment was non-controversial as he replaced the ailing leader Sudip Bandopadhyaya, Ms Ghosh Dastidar fills up the vacuum created by the resignation on Monday by Mr Kalyan Banerjee who indulged in a public spat with his fellow parliamentarian Mahua Moitra.
“In consultation with senior parliamentarians, the Chairperson has nominated Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the new Chief Whip of the @AITCofficial in the Lok Sabha and Smt. Satabdi Roy as the new Deputy Leader of the AITC in the Lok Sabha with immediate effect,” said TMC on X.
“We extend our best wishes to both of them in their new roles and in their continued efforts to uphold Bengal’s pride, rights and honour,” the official statement added further.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee announced his resignation from the post of chief whip in the Lok Sabha on Monday after a virtual meeting of TMC MPs chaired Ms Mamata Banerjee. “I have quit as the party’s chief whip in Lok Sabha, as ‘didi’ (West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee) said during the virtual meeting that there is a lack of coordination among party MPs. So the blame is on me. Hence, I have decided to step down,” Banerjee had said.
A day after he resigned as the TMC chief whip in Lok Sabha amid a churn in the party, Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on party colleague Mahua Moitra, saying she “lacks basic gratitude” and apologising to the nation for defending her.
“In 2023, I stood by Ms Moitra when she was under fire in Parliament – I did so out of conviction, not compulsion. Today, she repays that support by calling me a misogynist. I owe the nation an apology for having defended someone who clearly lacks basic gratitude. Let people see her words for what they are and judge accordingly,” the Serampore MP said in a post on X, sharing a video of his speech in support of Ms Moitra.
Hours after Mr Banerjee’s post, Ms Moitra congratulated party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar for being nominated as Chief Whip. “Heartfelt congratulations to my senior colleagues @kakoligdastidar & @SatabdiRoyMP for being nominated Chief Whip & Deputy Leader of AITC in Lok Sabha. God bless & shine on,” she posted on X.
Mr Banerjee and Ms Moitra have traded nasty barbs over the past few months. The latest flashpoint was Ms Moitra’s remarks in a podcast. Responding to a question on Mr Banerjee’s verbal attacks, Ms Moitra said, “You don’t wrestle with a pig. Because the pig likes it and you get dirty. There are deeply misogynistic, sexually frustrated, depraved men in India and they have their representation in parliament across all parties.”
Mr Banerjee’s nasty personal attack against Ms Moitra made headlines in June. Following a college student’s rape on campus, Mr Banerjee had said, “If a friend rapes a friend, how can you ensure security? Will there be police in schools?” The Trinamool Congress distanced itself from the remarks, with Ms Moitra adding a barb: “Misogyny in India cuts across party lines. What differentiates @AITCofficial is that we condemn these disgusting comments no matter who makes them.”
This drew a personal attack from Mr Banerjee, who referred to Ms Moitra’s recent wedding with former BJD MP Pinaki Misra. “She is saying I am anti-women. What is she? She has broken up a family and married a 65-year-old guy. And she is saying I am anti-women,” he said.
After Ms Moitra’s “pig” remark circulated on social media, Ms Banerjee hit back and said “the use of dehumanising language such as comparing a fellow MP to a ‘pig’, is not only unfortunate but reflects a deep disregard for basic norms of civil discourse.”
As per reports, the TMC MP was upset and hurt by the party’s silence over “insults” hurled at him by Ms Moitra. “Didi says MPs are quarrelling… Should I tolerate those who abuse me? I informed the party leadership, but no action was taken. Instead, I am blamed. Let Didi run the party her way… I am so upset that I am even thinking of quitting politics altogether,” he had said on Monday.
Ms Banerjee, it is learnt, had asked party MPs not to fight among themselves and focus on battling the government on Special Intensive Revision. The ruling party in Bengal is gearing up for Assembly polls next year as Ms Banerjee eyes a fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister. But considering Mr Kalyan Banerjee’s fresh attack on Ms Moitra, it is unlikely that washing of dirty linen in public would end in the TMC soon.
