Kolkata, Jul 17 (PTI) Two days after crossing over to the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, senior TMC MLA Madan Mitra on Friday made a surprise appearance at a protest organised by legislators loyal to Mamata Banerjee inside the West Bengal assembly, underlining the fluidity of the opposition camp’s escalating internal crisis.
The Kamarhati MLA, who on Wednesday announced his allegiance to the Ritabrata-led faction while insisting he had not quit the TMC, walked into the ‘Kalighat’ camp’s sit-in demonstration in support of activist Sonam Wangchuk and demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET controversy.
His presence at the protest caught many legislators by surprise and triggered a light-hearted exchange with senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who has remained firmly with the Mamata Banerjee camp despite the party’s deepening split.
Welcoming Mitra with a smile, Ghosh quipped that although the veteran MLA had “physically gone” to the rival camp, “his heart still remains here”.
Referring to the Enforcement Directorate issuing notices to Mitra’s wife and son, Ghosh alleged that central agencies were being used to pressure political opponents, and remarked that the MLA should “say whatever his heart desires for a few days”, adding that the Mamata camp now had “one of its own” inside the rival faction.
Mitra, who was seen smiling through the exchange, later responded with a veiled jibe at Ghosh.
“I feel the time for him to lose his heart is coming very soon,” he told reporters in an apparent suggestion that more leaders could desert the Mamata Banerjee camp.
Clarifying his presence at the protest, Mitra said he had remained there purely as a matter of courtesy after emerging from Ritabrata Banerjee’s chamber in the assembly, and insisted that it did not signify any change in his political position.
“My stand remains unchanged,” he asserted.
On the ED summons to his family members, Mitra said they would cooperate with the investigation.
“My wife and son have been summoned by the probe agency. They will appear. They have been called earlier as well. If I have really done anything wrong, then it should certainly be investigated,” he said.
The ED has summoned Mitra’s wife and his two sons for questioning next week in connection with its money laundering probe into the alleged municipal recruitment scam in West Bengal.
During the interaction, Mitra was also seen joking with senior TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay that he wished the latter would continue sitting on the opposition benches for the next 10 years, prompting laughter from those present. Chattopadhyay replied in jest that he would “return again”.
Mitra’s unexpected appearance came just two days after he dealt another setback to Mamata Banerjee’s faction by joining the Ritabrata-led rebel camp, amid the Trinamool Congress’ worsening post-election crisis.
While maintaining that he remained a TMC legislator and had not resigned from the party, Mitra announced on Wednesday he was quitting all organisational committees functioning under the “Mamata Banerjee-TMC” camp, including the post of the party’s chief whip in the assembly.
Launching one of his sharpest attacks yet on the party leadership, Mitra had likened Mamata Banerjee to “Dhritarashtra and Gandhari” (‘Mahabharata’ characters) over what he described as her blind affection for nephew Abhishek Banerjee, whom he compared to Adolf Hitler and called “a political villain with criminal instincts”.
One of Mamata Banerjee’s oldest political associates and a founding-era Trinamool leader, Mitra’s defection followed a string of high-profile exits that have strengthened the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee.
Friday’s scenes inside the assembly, where Mitra freely interacted with leaders from the Mamata Banerjee camp despite having switched allegiance, reflected the unusual nature of the split, with rival factions continuing to function under the TMC banner while openly competing for control of the party. PTI PNT RBT
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