TMC old vs new at foundation day: Abhishek camp hits out at state chief

Unfurling the TMC flag at the ceremony to mark the setting up of the party on this day in 1998, Bakshi first raised the issue. Not heard during the recent war of words within the party, which has included a recommendation that there be an upper age limit for leaders, Bakshi said: “Abhishek Banerjee is our all-India general secretary… Swabhabikbhabei, ei nirbachone jodi lorai koren, ta hole Mamata Banerjee ke saamne rekhei lorai korben, loraier maidan theke pichhiye jaben na (Naturally, if he fights in the coming election, Mamata Banerjee will be in the forefront and surely he will not back off from the battle field).”

Senior TMC leader Sudip Bandopadhyay (speaking at another rally commemorating the party foundation day) seconded Bakshi, declaring that without Mamata, the TMC would not exist.

Kunal Ghosh, the TMC state secretary and Abhishek loyalist, who has been the most vocal against the old guard in the party, countered by accusing a “section of the senior leaders” of showing “pseudo-loyalty” to Mamata.

Ghosh first said the same at a foundation day programme near his neighbourhood and repeated it at a press conference at his home. “I respect our state president, but I have reservations regarding his sentence construction. It is not acceptable. Abhishek Banerjee is very much at the forefront, what he is doing is for the good of the party. He (Bakshi) is basically tarnishing the image of Abhishek Banerjee, making these off-the-cuff remarks, which are not good for the party.”

Ghosh also attacked Bandopadhyay, saying: “He saw the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee at the recent agitation in Delhi (against the state’s pending dues vis-a-vis the Centre). All these statements are creating division within the party. We want seniors to remain at the top, but by our side, we need a new generation.”

Ghosh further said, “Our senior leaders and ministers are with Mamata Banerjee, they are in different posts, but at a difficult time for the party, they are just saving themselves.”

Before the 2021 Assembly elections, Abhishek had suggested that those holding party posts not get a ticket. However, Mamata had not conceded this, nor has she endorsed the argument of the Abhishek camp that senior members of the party retire from politics.

Earlier, Ghosh had asked why the picture of Abhishek, considered virtually TMC No. 2, was not present next to Mamata’s at a party programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on November 23.

Days later, on December 4, Abhishek, 36, said there should be a maximum age limit in every field, including politics. While veteran leaders were needed in every party for their experience, he said, “their productivity does fall with age”.

Incidentally, at one of the party events Monday, Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said: “We openly admit that a section of our party has been involved in corruption. The TMC is a family, but that does not mean that we are all corrupt. Nobody in my constituency can say that Firhad Hakim is corrupt or has taken bribes from anyone.”

In a reference to the school job recruitment scam, in which former education minister Partha Chatterjee is under arrest, Hakim said: “Taking money to give a job is the same thing as cutting flesh from a mother’s body.”

In her message on the foundation day, Mamata said: “Our main objectives have been to honour the motherland, uphold the interests of our state, and to work relentlessly for protection of the democratic rights of our people. Even today, each worker and supporter of our party is committed and pledged to these objectives.”