Ritabrata faction 'takes over' TMC HQ in Kolkata as rebels versus Mamata escalates
More trouble appears to be brewing for former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel MLAs on Friday
More trouble appears to be brewing for former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebel MLAs on Friday reportedly took control of the party headquarters in Kolkata. The internal power struggle escalated after a faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee and Firhad Hakim returned from Delhi and moved to assert control over Trinamool Bhavan on EM Bypass. Soon after, meetings were held at the office, following which the group allegedly padlocked the gates of the party headquarters. Read Full Story Earlier, the faction had met the full bench of the Election Commission in New Delhi, claiming to be the legitimate representatives of the “TMC” with no ambiguity over the party name or symbol.
Subsequently, the rebel group reportedly locked the gates of Trinamool Bhavan and put up an “All India Trinamool Congress” banner, naming Arup Roy as its chairperson. MAMATA FACTION SLAMS SEIZURE Leaders aligned with the Kalighat camp, including Madan Mitra and Kunal Ghosh, strongly condemned the move. Meanwhile, police and central forces have been deployed at the party office as tensions continue to rise. "He is a criminal. There are criminal cases against him. He has committed crimes. What connection do those people have with our party office? They have no connection at all," said Kalyan Banerjee.
Banerjee, who represents Sreerampur in the Lok Sabha, dismissed the rebels' claims as baseless, asserting that the party would prove them false. Referring to their office in Rajdanga, he said merely having an office did not lend legitimacy to their claims. He alleged that the breakaway group comprised "goons and criminals" and questioned why the Trinamool Congress should recognise them as a legitimate faction. Warning the rebels, Banerjee said no one was above the law, irrespective of their proximity to political leaders, and asserted that the party would take the battle to its conclusion.
On the Election Commission proceedings, he said the poll body had sought a response to certain documents and that the party would reply at the appropriate time. He further said the TMC would challenge the rebels both legally and politically, promising to expose what he described as the criminal cases pending against members of the breakaway group before the courts as well as the public. Ends
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