Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has made it official that Mahua Moitra is here to stay. Brushing aside speculation that the controversial MP from Krishnanagar might be denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls next year, the chief minister of West Bengal sang Moitra’s praise at a party programme in Kolkata, Thursday.
This was a first since Moitra got embroiled in the ‘cash-for-query’ allegations levelled against her by BJP’s Nishikant Dubey.
Addressing MPs, MLAs, panchayat workers and TMC leaders of various wings, Mamata Banerjee said, “Their (BJP leadership) plan is to expel Mahua. This will only make her more popular. For three months she will say what she was saying inside the Parliament to the media outside. How does it matter? Only those who are stupid can make such an attempt.”
But this isn’t the first time Mamata Banerjee has put her weight behind Moitra. Last week, the party appointed Moitra as president of its Krishnanagar district unit in Nadia. This came against the backdrop of a parliamentary panel probe against her which concluded with the head of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee recommending her expulsion.
Moitra is one of TMC’s most vocal MPs in the Lok Sabha and many of her fiery, viral speeches have helped garner national attention for the TMC, otherwise restricted to West Bengal.
“Mamata Banerjee is a street fighter. She always pushes women within the party to greater heights. Be it her cabinet or ticket distribution, she prioritises women,” said one TMC leader who did not want to be named.
Interestingly, Mamata’s support for Moitra in front of cameras and her own party workers comes in the same week as the state government cancelling its initial pact with the Adani Group for development of the Tajpur Port. On Tuesday, CM Mamata Banerjee announced that the government will initiate a fresh tender process for the project.
According to political analyst Udayan Bandopadhyay, Moitra’s fearless attitude is why she always has Mamata’s backing. “Mamata Banerjee is supporting Mahua Moitra since she is a fearless woman parliamentarian. Controversies are there but those do not surpass the errors of an authoritarian rule,” he told ThePrint.
“Mahua Moitra is a popular Trinamool MP, she is well established and the party wouldn’t want to lose her,” added a TMC parliamentarian who did not want to be named.
Moitra, who began her political innings as a party spokesperson, shot to the limelight representing TMC on national TV debates. She was also able to convince Mamata Banerjee to give her a ticket in Nadia instead of Murshidabad, which is where the TMC chief wanted to field her.
Another TMC leader who was part of the programme Thursday claimed internal bickering within the party in Nadia has been a cause for worry.
But Mamata Banerjee has now delivered a clear message to the cadres: her support for Moitra is unwavering and the Krishnanagar MP is the party’s point person in Nadia district.
A section of the opposition leaders including Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had questioned TMC’s silence on the ‘cash-for-query’ allegations against Moitra.
Asked about Mamata Banerjee statement that the BJP was making Moitra more popular, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya declined to comment and instead claimed that Banerjee broke her silence at the insistence of INDIA alliance partner CPI(M) leaders Sitaram Yechury and Md Salim.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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