Trinamool Congress (TMC) has witnessed a significant leadership change within the Lok Sabha, with party General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee now the leader of its parliamentary unit in the Lower House. He succeeds long-time MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who had been in charge for four terms.
The decision was announced by West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee at a virtual meeting held on Monday where the party's Members of Parliament from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha attended.
In a connected development, another four-time Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee of TMC announced after the meeting that he is resigning as party's Chief Whip in the Lower House.
Although the party has not yet appointed a successor to Kalyan Banerjee, it is unclear if Abhishek Banerjee will also take up the whip's duties in an interim capacity until a fresh appointment is made.
Justifying his resignation, Kalyan Banerjee explained to journalists that he was morally driven to quit after Mamata Banerjee expressed her dissatisfaction during the meeting with regard to what she termed as a lack of coordination among the party MPs in Parliament.
A Lok Sabha MP who was present at the meeting stated that the Chief Minister hinted that Abhishek Banerjee might be required to handle both roles — as leader of the parliamentary party and as acting Chief Whip — for the time being.
"Chief Minister has requested him to regulate which MP would deliver a speech on which subject in the Lok Sabha. Nevertheless, all such things would have to be cleared by her finally," added the MP, on condition of anonymity.
Party sources also referred to rising internal factionalism that could have contributed to the recent reshuffle. Kalyan Banerjee had been reportedly criticised by the top leadership, including party chief Mamata Banerjee, over his recent altercation with fellow MP Mahua Moitra. The row had started over Kalyan Banerjee's comments on the rape of a law student inside a college campus in Kasba, South Kolkata — comments which drew public ire.
The controversy deepened further when Kalyan Banerjee allegedly made personal remarks on Mahua Moitra's new wedding to senior Supreme Court attorney and erstwhile Lok Sabha MP from Odisha's Puri seat, Pinaki Misra.
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