Kolkata, Mar 31 (PTI) Trinamool Congress social media in-charge Debangshu Bhattacharya on Monday slammed a section of senior leaders, accusing them of keeping mum during the “battle”, an allusion to alleged harassment of party functionaries by political opponents.
In his no-holds-barred attack on those senior leaders, Bhattacharya also charged them with attending only felicitation programmes, remaining indoors with sycophants, and not hitting the streets.
Senior leaders, however, sought to downplay his outbursts, saying each “stray protest” by the BJP or the Left does not warrant separate rallies.
In a Facebook post, Bhattacharya said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was interrupted during her speech at Kellogg College in London, Education Minister Bratya Basu was heckled at Jadavpur University and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was harassed by central investigative agencies.
However, a section of leaders “who are either elected representatives or hold important posts in the party remained indoors and are only seen during felicitation programmes holding flower bouquets and donning ‘uttariyas’ on the podium”, he claimed.
Bhattacharya, who unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha polls, asserted that the party stood by those leaders during their difficult times but they were caught napping during “the battle”.
“Why should you wait for instruction to actively take part in protest when our leader faces dishonour? Will you be thrown out of the party if you take out a protest rally on your own in the given situation?” asked Bhattacharya, one of the TMC state spokespersons.
“Instead of sitting in the party office in the company of sycophants and flooding the social media pages with your photos and inauguration of drains and roads, these leaders must also use social media to counter the false and toxic opposition propaganda against our party and its supremo,” read the post of Bhattacharya.
The young TMC state spokesperson also recalled being the juniormost spokesperson, juniormost youth wing president, the youngest Lok Sabha candidate and now the IT cell charge, he will not run away from the battlefield till his last breath those senior leaders.
He asked, “Why had you contested from panchayat, municipality, assembly and Lok Sabha seats and got elected if you cannot face the onslaught of conspirators?” Bhattacharya asserted that several senior ministers, “despite their busy schedules”, still do their bit in defending the CM while the rest don’t.
Responding to the young leader’s comment, veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy told reporters that any agitation and disruptive tendency by any motley group of few SFI-DYFI members won’t cut much ice.
“The people of Bengal won’t be swayed or influenced by the Left or BJP. There is no need to organise separate protest rallies against stray activities by these frustrated elements. Our CM has herself rebuffed those who tried to derail her address (in London).” TMC state general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said “Debangshu has vented his discontent over the response of some people within the organisation and posted some comments.” Bhattacharya later told reporters: “I think everyone who loves the party should actively combat the sinister propaganda unleashed by forces that want to destabilise the state and embarrass our leader.” “With only eight months to go for the assembly polls, they (senior leaders) must not wait for programmes announced by the party leadership but act on their own,” he said. PTI SUS NN
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