Kolkata: Within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a sense of unease looms over the handling of the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in the seminar room of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, with a section of party leaders saying they are aggrieved at being scarcely consulted by CM Mamata Banerjee and clueless about the party’s next moves.
There is also talk in internal circles of what to make of Mamata’s ‘kitchen cabinet’ in light of all that has happened, influence of a ‘North Bengal lobby’ over health services-related decisions, anger in urban pockets turning into anti-incumbency sentiment, and of whether there are differences between Mamata and nephew Abhishek on how to handle the fallout.
While there is no such glaring evidence of a difference of opinion between Mamata and Abhishek on how to run the party, discordant voices critical of centralization of power within the party organisation have grown louder.
“Mamata Banerjee is and will continue to be the face of Trinamool Congress. There’s no two ways about it. Everybody accepts that. But a section of TMC leaders feel Mamata needs to open up the consultation process and involve more people in decision-making,” says one.
Emphasising that there is no apparent difference between Mamata and national general secretary Abhishek, a second Trinamool leader adds, “Remember, at the end of the day, they are the same blood.”
A TMC functionary explains further, “The party needs both Mamata and Abhishek. Mamata continues to be a big vote-catcher for TMC. Abhishek has also proved his mettle, when it comes to strategizing for elections. The result of municipal, assembly and recent Lok Sabha elections are an example.”
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Break within ranks?
The first TMC leader quoted earlier is quick to add that speculation of differences between Mamata and Abhishek gained ground after a post on X (formerly Twitter) by him on 15 August, a day after a mob overran and vandalised the emergency ward of the state-run hospital in Kolkata where a 31-year-old trainee doctor was raped and murdered.
The mob also targeted doctors and civil society members sitting in protest to demand justice for the victim.
Terming the mob’s actions as “hooliganism and vandalism,” Abhishek said he urged Kolkata Police chief to “ensure that every individual responsible for today’s violence is identified, held accountable, and made to face the law within the next 24 hours, regardless of their political affiliations.” The MP from Diamond Harbour also endorsed the demands of protesting doctors as “fair and justified.”
The hooliganism and vandalism at RG Kar tonight have exceeded all acceptable limits. As a public representative, I just spoke with @CPKolkata , urging him to ensure that every individual responsible for today’s violence is identified, held accountable, and made to face the law…
— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) August 14, 2024
A few other senior Trinamool leaders including Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and former MP Dr Santanu Sen too took stands that raised eyebrows within the party. Sen, for instance, publicly suggested that Abhishek Banerjee come forward to “control this ongoing unrest”. Sen has since been removed as a spokesperson of the party.
Situation demands @abhishekaitc to come forward to control this ongoing unrest.
These hooligans must be identified& punished.
Getting phone calls from junior doctors,students & few reporters who are badly scared.@KolkataPolice , please take care of them & save #RGKarHospital https://t.co/UrU8b7PSRv
— DR SANTANU SEN (@SantanuSenMP) August 14, 2024
“Some leaders have expressed their views on the incident and the way it was handled, especially the transfer of RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh to Calcutta National Medical College & Hospital within hours of resigning. This has been construed as a (sic) growing division between Mamata and Abhishek,” says the second TMC leader quoted earlier.
The leader reiterates that while there may be differences between Mamata and Abhishek on how to run the party, that is no sign of dissension.
“For quite some time Abhishek Banerjee has been pressing for overhauling the organisation setup and introducing reforms like ‘one man, one post’. But has not made much headway,” says the Trinamool functionary quoted earlier. The functionary goes on to add how back-to-back decisions by the ruling party in West Bengal triggered nationwide outrage and led to the perception that it was shielding former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh.
“On whose advice Ghosh, who had resigned from his post, transferred to the Calcutta National Medical College as principal immediately? On whose advice, the wall next to the seminar hall, where the incident happened, (was) razed to the ground? None of us have a clue. This is where the push is coming from, where nobody knows what is happening and how to respond,” the functionary tells ThePrint.
Asked about the party’s response, TMC councillor Arup Chakraborty, who is also the party’s official spokesperson says, “The government continues to be sensitive in the matter, in spite of some unwarranted incidents like the transfer of Sandip Ghosh, which could have been avoided.”
“Because of the sensitivity of the matter CM Mamata Banerjee and our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee have asked for capital punishment for the accused. The CM was the first to announce that she does not have an issue in handing over the case to CBI. She has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a central law for speedy justice in sexual assault cases,” adds Chakraborty.
‘Mamata & her kitchen cabinet’
Party insiders also say there is resentment among a section of leaders that whenever she has to, Mamata Banerjee mostly prefers to consult three leaders, often referred to as the three-time chief minister’s ‘kitchen cabinet’.
“They include the Trinamool Congress Bengal president Subrata Bakshi, Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, who is also the urban development and municipal affairs minister, and Power Minister Aroop Biswas, who is also incharge of two other ministries including housing. Her kitchen cabinet is basically adding to the obfuscation,” says a second TMC functionary.
Adding, “Even if we want to give advice, who do we give it to? We are not consulted.”
According to this Trinamool functionary, there is a visible difference between Mamata and Abhishek on how to run the party. “Abhishek wants to reform the organisation, he has been calling for ‘one man, one post’. Take the three leaders close to her and whom she mostly consults; all hold multiple posts within the party and government.”
Reflection of anti-incumbency?
Outrage over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the state-run hospital in Kolkata and the West Bengal government’s handling of it resulted in student groups, feminist collectives, teachers and civil society giving out a call to ‘Reclaim the Night’.
Thousands in Kolkata and other parts of the state took to the streets in protest on the intervening night of 14-15 August. The massive and spontaneous turnout put the heat on the Mamata-led government, forcing her to stage a demonstration to demand capital punishment for accused Sanjoy Roy, who is currently in judicial custody.
“The astute politician that she is, Mamata realised soon enough that the incident has the potential to snowball. She was not rigid as is her nature and declared that if the state police is unable to deliver then she does not have any qualms in referring the probe to CBI,” says the first TMC functionary quoted earlier.
Adding, “That was very significant as far as Bengal politics is concerned.”
This Trinamool functionary also says that protests in West Bengal over the 9 August incident at RG Kar were largely restricted to urban areas where the TMC did not do well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections despite winning 29 of the overall 42 seats in the state.
“The protests in urban pockets is a reflection of some level of anti-incumbency,” says the functionary, adding that the Left’s presence in these pockets has dipped, implying that if disgruntlement is not addressed, it might end up helping BJP in the 2026 assembly polls.
Trinamool’s Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy, however, maintains that while there is outrage along expected lines over all that has transpired, it would be foolish to view this as a threat to the ruling party in the state. “The government led by Mamata Banerjee has a massive majority. It’s a democratically elected government. So there is no question of any threat.”
Adding that all that happened was “unfortunate”, Roy tells ThePrint that he met the family of the trainee doctor from RG Kar.
“They are lower middle class people, who have brought up their daughter with much effort. The crime is heinous and I can understand the public anger and their spontaneous protest. Only thing I cannot approve of is the vandalism that happened on 14 August midnight at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, which caused a loss of many crores. I wish the CBI success in nabbing the culprits and only after that public anger will subside,” he says.
The ‘North Bengal lobby’
Though in hushed tones, many within the TMC as well as the larger medical community are also talking about the power wielded by a certain “North Bengal lobby” in all decisions related to state health services. This lobby, they allege, was behind whatever was going on at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, and was also the source of Sandip Ghosh’s power.
“It is an open secret in West Bengal’s corridors of power that all transfer postings and other decisions related to health services had to be approved by the lobby,” a senior doctor and head of department at a state-run medical college tells ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
The opposition BJP too has latched on to this idea of a ‘nexus’.
“I call it the SPD nexus and Sandip Ghosh is an integral part of it. The SPD nexus is behind the rot in health services across the state,” Union minister and West Bengal BJP acting president Sukanta Majumdar tells ThePrint. The ‘SPD’ referred to in Majumdar’s attack are initials of Dr Shyamapada Das, who is Mamata’s family physician.
ThePrint reached Dr Shyamapada Das via phone for a response but was told he is unavailable.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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It has been observed that whenever a crime is committed in West Bengal or any other state not ruled by BJP , the print chooses to protest that the state government is not responsible but others where the state govt is trying to help. I hope you realise that you have heightened sense of bias and don’t report for justice
Since Sagarika Ghose is silent, all is well; there is nothing to worry about. Modi is the devil, Mamatha is innocent—thinks Sagarika.