TMC Crisis: In another major setback to TMC supremo and former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, one of her most trusted aides and former Bengal Minister, Madan Mitra, on Wednesday joined the rebel group of TMC MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee.
Mitra, an MLA from the Kamarhati seat in North 24 Parganas district, said that he has resigned from all national and state committees functioning under the Mamata Banerjee-aligned TMC and also stepped down from the party's chief whip post with immediate effect.
"I have only changed my room, not my house. I am very much in the TMC," the Kamarhati MLA said after joining the rebel group of MLAs. Mitra's resignation is the latest setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC faction, which has been grappling with an unprecedented rebellion over the past few months.
Mitra cited issues with the handling of the party and the sidelining of senior leaders by Abhishek Banerjee. "I had suggested to Abhishek Banerjee that he step aside for six months or a year. I told him, let us build the party, and then you can come back and take your seat but he refused," Mitra said.
"He said, I won't leave the party. The party is sinking; the boat has gone under. People are dying. Yet, the party decided or rather it was forced to accept that everyone else could die, but Abhishek had to be saved," he added.
Mitra further accused Mamata Banerjee of reducing the party to "serve only the interests of Abhishek Banerjee". "It is deeply saddening. The party belongs to everyone, yet it seems to have been reduced to serving only Abhishek. I earnestly request Mamata ji to come let us view this as a marathon. We will surely cross paths along the way. Let us see which horse surges ahead," he said.
ED Summons Madan Mitra's Wife, Sons
The development came a day after the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday summoned Madan Mitra's wife and two sons in connection with a money-laundering probe into the Municipal recruitment scam in West Bengal.
The summons were issued after the ED came across information linking the family members to certain financial transactions under scrutiny in the case. While neither Mitra nor the rebel camp linked the summons to Wednesday's events, the timing added another layer to the political buzz surrounding his move.
"During the course of investigation, these financial transactions came to light in which the names of the MLA's wife and his two sons surfaced. They have been summoned next week to record their statements," an ED official said as quoted by PTI.