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Journalism of Courage
The discontent against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Sandeshkhali has already put the ruling party on the backfoot in West Bengal. With the Lok Sabha polls round the corner, the allegations of land grab and sexual assault have added fire to the party’s troubles, which started over two years ago, following probes by central agencies into allegations of scams and arrests of senior party leaders that have continued with regularity since then.
In this backdrop, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh’s latest broadside against the TMC brass has opened another front against the embattled Mamata Banerjee dispensation.
Ghosh has trained his guns on veteran party MP Sudip Banerjee — the TMC Lok Sabha leader — over questions surrounding who paid for his prolonged hospital stay in Bhubaneshwar, after he was arrested by the CBI.
Ghosh has, in fact, threatened to go to court over this, although he is yet to clarify who he blames for the allegation he has made.
The TMC state secretary said in a post on his X handle a few days ago: “@dir_ed @CBIHeadquarters The bank accounts of Sudip Banerjee, MP and payments on behalf of him to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar must be investigated. When he was in custody, whether a large amount paid to him or paid to hospital on behalf of him or not, that should be probed. If it is founded to fact, then it may relate with coal scam and Banerjee should be arrested for further investigation. If agencies try to avoid this, I should move to Ld Court praying for investigation into this matter.”
The reference is to the CBI arrest of Bandopadhyay on January 3, 2017, over his alleged involvement in the Rs 17,000 crore Rose Valley Ponzi “scam”. Bandopadhyay had then been taken to Odisha and kept in a jail there, where he fell ill and was admitted to a hospital. He finally got bail on May 19, 2017.
On Friday, Ghosh announced he did not want to continue in his roles as the TMC state secretary or spokesperson. He wrote, “Ami ayi system e misfit (I am a misfit in this system),” adding that he will remain a ‘soldier’ for the party.
A couple of months ago, Ghosh had also raised the issue of upper age limit for party MPs and MLAs. It was another dig at Bandopadhyay, who is pushing 75. Later, the TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee endorsed his views, leading to a debate over “old versus new” within the party.
Before that, the outspoken party spokesperson had criticised the party leadership over a host of issues, including the party not displaying Abhishek’s photo at a party meeting in Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium.
“Let me make it very clear — there is no fight between the old and the new. It is not about Mamata Banerjee against Abhishek Banerjee. Both of them are a team. The party needs them both and their contributions are essential. However, I feel that no major TMC programme can be held without Abhishek Banerjee. As he couldn’t attend the (Netaji Indoor Stadium) meeting due to ill health, his photograph should have been displayed,” Ghosh said.
He added, “The stage was incomplete without Abhishek Banerjee’s presence or his photograph. He has sacrificed a lot for the party and elevated himself to a position where he can’t be ignored. He is essential for the party.”
On this issue, Mamata had then said, “You have to take everyone along, be it old-timers, newcomers or those who want to join us. If they (those who want to join) have good credentials, you must consider inducting them into the party.”
Ghosh’s latest attacks show that the TMC supremo’s attempt at cooling the embers of protest might not have succeeded.
