Mamata Banerjee to address internal squabbles at meet with MPs
TNN Bureau. Updated: 1/22/2022 1:52:05 PM
Politics
Amidst recent reports of infighting and leaders speaking about party issues publicly, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be talking to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who have been vocal about their grievances recently in a virtual meeting on January 27.
Leaders said that the party chief is also likely to discuss TMC’s strategy for the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament. She would attend it from her Kalighat residence.
The budget session is scheduled to start from January 31 and end on February 8. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget in Parliament on February 1.
TMC leaders said that the Chief Minister is likely to discuss recent instances of party members making aggressive remarks against each other. “The debate started with MP Abhishek Banerjee’s “Diamond Harbour Model” and his views on Covid-19 management. It led to differences between Abhishek and leaders like TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee. In this situation, we are expecting that the party chief may instruct leaders who have been vocal about their grievances recently to discuss their issues internally,” said a party source.
“Every time the Chief Minister meets the MPs before a session of Parliament and gives us instructions. The party would decide what to do following the instructions of the party leader,” said a TMC MP on condition of anonymity.
Reports of infighting within the TMC first came in after party MP and the Chief Minister’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee made news with his “Diamond Harbour Model” of Covid management.
Even as the state government drew flak from opposition parties for the rapid surge in Covid-19 and Omicron cases in Bengal and its decision to hold the grand Gangasagar Mela, Diamond Harbour stood apart for a “country-wide record” in daily testing for a constituency on January 12 (53,203), for low positivity (2.5%), and for banning gatherings as part of efforts to check the rise in new infections.
As praises for the constituency poured in, many leaders like TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee criticised the model and referred to Banerjee’s views as a breach of party discipline. “The post of All India General Secretary of the party is not temporary. So no one in this position can have a personal opinion… He (Abhishek) is opposing the Mamata Banerjee government. In this way, the state government has been challenged,” he added.