Asked to give standing ovation to Abhishek Banerjee: TMC rebel airs dirty laundry
Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, in an exclusive interview with India Today on Sunday, ripped into the party’s internal functioning, alleging that legislators
Rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, in an exclusive interview with India Today on Sunday, ripped into the party’s internal functioning, alleging that legislators were instructed to give a standing ovation to Abhishek Banerjee at a post-election meeting convened to review the party’s performance in the West Bengal Assembly polls. Ritabrata Banerjee’s remarks, which openly aired internal discord within the party, centred around a meeting held at Kalighat on May 6, two days after the election results. He alleged that instead of a formal review of the legislative party’s performance, the sole resolution pushed through was to publicly honour Abhishek Banerjee. Read Full Story “There was no resolution regarding the Legislative Party. There was only a single resolution. Everybody should stand up. Give a standing ovation to Abhishek Banerjee,” he said. Painting a picture of unease within the room, the 47-year-old rebel MLA claimed that several legislators were reluctant to comply.
“Everybody was hesitant. Even I was hesitant. But I did not have the courage not to stand up. So it was a half stand up. I did not get fully on my toes from the chair,” he added. Turning more direct in his political criticism, Ritabrata added, “Everybody knows who is the greatest liability of Trinamool Congress,” a remark widely seen as an oblique reference to Abhishek Banerjee. Notably, several TMC leaders have publicly criticised Abhishek Banerjee's leadership style in the aftermath of the party's electoral setback. He further claimed that the party leadership continued to project confidence despite electoral losses. “The party said we have not lost the election. We won 80 seats. At that time, BJP had won 207 seats,” he said, adding that there was a continued attempt to suggest the party had actually won “180 seats” and that “100 seats are being snatched away.” Ritabrata also claimed growing support among legislators, stating that the number of MLAs aligned with his faction now stands at 61 and is “increasing.” He added that they are prepared for a floor test and challenged the leadership to prove its majority in the Assembly, saying, “Let there be a floor test.
Doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani”, while insisting that his movement is not about individuals but a collective cause. “There is nothing called ‘I’ in my vocabulary. This is a fight for ‘we’,” he said. Last week, a major split rocked the TMC legislature party after more than two-thirds of its strength, 58 of its 80 MLAs, broke away from the official fold and were recognised as the principal Opposition bloc in the Assembly under expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee. This was the first split in TMC in its 28-year history. According to him, nearly all MLAs who signed the support letter were present when he met the Speaker, and he confirmed that he had not been naming colleagues who contacted him directly. Several legislators, including Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Seuli Saha, and Akhruzzaman were named in key positions within the rebel grouping, including deputy leaders and chief whip.
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