Kolkata: In more trouble for Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a police complaint has been lodged against her over alleged inflammatory remarks made during a sit-in protest at Esplanade.
A businessman is reported to have registered the complaint, alleging that Mamata’s statement, “You are safe because we are here; if we weren’t, a certain community would, in an instant…” was inflammatory.
The Hare Street Police Station has registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter based on this complaint, as reported by abp LIVE.
Mamata is facing severe rebellion after her loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections. While 58 of her 80 MLAs have rebelled against her, 19 Lok Sabha MPs are reportedly planning to meet the Speaker to be identified as the “real” Trinamool Congress.
This was announced by dissident MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia on Friday.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Basunia, the MP from Cooch Behar and one of the leaders supporting alignment with the NDA in the Lok Sabha, said the rebel group has already submitted a representation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and will meet him on Monday to press its claim.
“We have submitted the letter. On Monday, we will meet the Speaker and stake our claim to form the real TMC parliamentary group. We will request him to recognise our faction,” Basunia said.
The signature campaign in support of the move began on June 8, and 19 MPs have signed the representation so far, he said. Sources, however, said the timing of the proposed meeting with the Speaker has not yet been finalised.
Basunia also rejected allegations made by TMC MP Kirti Azad that dissident lawmakers were being induced to switch loyalties. “Kirti Azad is making false allegations. We are 19 MPs, and he is also an MP. Such statements are inappropriate,” he said.
Backing senior TMC leader Kalyan Banerjee’s recent criticism of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Basunia said, “Kalyan ji is saying the right thing. We support his statement.”
On Thursday, senior leader Kalyan Banerjee launched a scathing attack on Abhishek Banerjee and declared that he would remain in the party only if Abhishek was stripped of all leadership responsibilities.
Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik also resigned from both the party and the Upper House on Thursday, becoming the third TMC parliamentarian to do so this week after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Sushmita Dev.
There are some who have announced their their support for Mamata though. They include Lok Sabha MPs Sougata Roy, Shatrughan Sinha and Pratima Mondal, along with Rajya Sabha MP Babul Supriyo. They have denied being part of any dissident camp and asserted that they will continue to stand with the party leadership.
