Mamata Banerjee admonishes nephew Abhishek, calls BJP a militant organisation at party meeting in Kolkata

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday sounded a warning against the youth wing of her party, the Trinamool Congress, saying it was not a separate, independent entity and the leaders will have to work under the main party. The CM’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, heads the party’s youth wing, and such open warning against him from the party chief has never been heard before.

Abhishek – her elder brother’s son – has always been a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, and she is extremely affectionate towards him. However, at an extended core committee meeting of the party in Kolkata today, Mamata Banerjee said, “Abhishek is not here. But I have to say this now – there is no difference between Trinamool Congress and the party’s youth wing. The youth wing must work under the Trinamool Congress leadership. The young leaders must value the seniors. The party won’t accept the youth Trinamool Congress leaders working independently without informing the senior leaders from various districts.”

Such allegations were pouring in before the Trinamool Congress chief over a period of time – and senior leaders of the party were apparently agitated and upset about the functioning of the party’s youth wing under Abhishek’s leadership.

Under the circumstances, Mamata Banerjee’s open criticism is being considered as extremely significant ahead of the Lok Sabha polls for which party leaders will be assigned specific roles and Abhishek was being considered to be among the top leaders expected to lead from the front.

 

Mamata calls BJP a militant organisation, dares them to “encounter” Trinamool Congress workers

Without naming the BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, the Trinamool chief dared him to do what he had threatened. On Wednesday Ghosh had said that Trinamool Congress workers must be ready for “encounters” if they continued to attack the BJP. Ghosh had said “Soon we will count the dead bodies of the TMC workers as well as the number of bullets… The police or the government can’t stop us from using guns or bullets.”

In response, Mamata Banerjee today said politics could not involve guns and bullets.

She also criticised the Congress in Bengal saying that while the party was opposing the BJP at the Centre, the state wing had a nexus with the BJP. She said the CPI(M) too had a nexus with the BJP in Bengal – and all these alliances had become clear during the recent panchayat elections.

 

Poor panchayat performance

Mamata Banerjee asked the party’s district wings to introspect on the party’s poor performances in some districts in the recent panchayat elections. The meeting was attended by all elected members of zilla parishad and panchayat samity along with the party’s Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly.

Banerjee said that those who had failed to retain their seats in the panchayat elections have lost due to their own mistakes. Salboni MLA Srikanta Mahato was warned for the party’s poor show in Jhargram.

Banerjee said, “Do not think that only I will do all the hard work and some people in the party will reap the benefits. Everyone has to work diligently. If you feel that you are bigger than the party you may leave.”